
Class _L._ 1d_B_u^ 
Book }62A^ 




RuTHKKrORD B. Hayes. 



The 
CENTENARY CELEBRATION 

of the birth of 

Rutherford Birchard Haves 

at 



Spiegel Grove, Fremont. Ohio 
October 4. 1922 



By LUCY ELLIOT KEELER 



Reprinted from 
Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly 



COLUMBUS. OHIO: 
THE F. J. HEER PRI^TING CO. 

• 1923 



/9 / 






/ 



\An 



THE CENTENARY CELEBRATION OF THE BIRTH 

OF RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES AT 

SPIEGEL GROVE, FREMONT, OHIO 



BY LUCY ELLIOT KEELER 



"Of which I was a great part," is the classic motto 
which for almost twenty centuries hero after hero has 
proudly taken to himself. President Hayes would 
have passed it by. Perhaps no other phrase exists, 
however, which so effectively describes the pervasion 
of his personality through all the commemorative events 
and the scene in which they were staged, at Fremont, 
Ohio, October 4, 1922, the centenary of his birth. 

Spiegel Grove, the home to which he was devotedly 
attached, and which he had known intimately from boy- 
hood, was never fairer than on that serene autumnal 
day, basking under the bluest of blue skies. Every one 
of those great trees his hands had touched; each fair 
vista had delighted him; the clearings in the dense 
forest, letting in the sunlight, had been planned and 
executed by him ; on many of the finest trees he had 
bestowed the names of his comrades; spot after spot 
he had enriched with gathered lore; the homestead 
which he had reshaped to his family life, the rooms 
he had lived and worked in and in which he had 
been the generous, delightful host; the porches and 
paths he had trod; the national colors under which he 
had fought and bled and served: the secluded Knoll 
where his mortal remains lie beside those of his beloved 

(■') 




o 



<?; 



(6) 



Birth of Riiflu^rford Hirchard Hayes 7 

wife; the niinil)erless books he had gathered and 
studied; the reunion again of all his children whose 
first hero he ever was; the presence of aged survivors 
of his old regiment, and of his successors in the State 
and Federal government; the city to whose welfare he 
had given himself and his fame so generously and which 
forever becomes his heir in the enjoyment of Spiegel 
Grove: — march'ng feet, martial mus'c, happy faces, 
distinguished guests, ringing tributes of love and honor 
and praise — of all this he is still the greatest part. 

Seventv-seven years ago, in 1845, Rutherford liirch- 
ard Haves began the practice of law in Lower San- 
duskv, now Fremont. He had been admitted to the 
Bar of Ohio at Marietta, following his graduation in 
Februarv of that year ivom. the Dane Law School of 
Harvard L^niversity, on the completion of his two years' 
course at that institution. His father had died some 
three months before his birth, which occurred on the 
4th of October, LS22, at Delaware, Ohio; luit his ma- 
ternal uncle, Sard's Birchard, who had himself been 
adopted into the family at twelve years of age, on the 
death of his parents, at once assumed the direction 
and control of his sister's little family and continued to 
the end of his life as the fond uncle, guardian and bene- 
factor. 

Young Hayes first visited his uncle at Lower San- 
dusky, (now Fremont) in 1834, and on entering the 
Nor walk Academy, in 183h, walked the intervening 
twenty-five miles to spend his Sundays with his uncle 
at Lower Sanduskv. 




c4&^^/?^ e^^/t^/z/^^/- Wm/^^/l^<7/eJ, y/S 77-^881 

Fac-simile of First Page of Invitation. 



(«) 



Birth of Ruth,':rf(>rd Birchord Hayes 9 

This place was to him notable for its hunting- and 
fishing on Brady's Island, at the lower falls of the San- 
dusky, historically noted by Washington during the 
Revolutionary War. 

From the Norwalk Academy, he entered in 1837 
Isaac Webb's school at Middletown, Connecticut, a pre- 
paratory school for Yale, whither his mother had taken 
him in connection with a famous trip to the New Eng- 
land relatives. Owing to Yale's great distance from 
home, however, he was sent later to Kenyon College, 
founded by the famous Bishop Philander Chase, which 
in the short space of almost its first decade had as 
students Salmon P. Chase, Lincoln's Secretary of the 
Treasury and Chief Justice; David Davis and Stanley 
Matthews. Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, 
Davis appointed by Lincoln and Matthews appointed by 
Hayes, his collegemate and fellow officer in the 23d 
Ohio; Edwin M. Stanton, Lincoln's Secretary of War; 
and Henry Winter Davis, a distinguished Representa- 
tive in Congress. 

Hayes entered in 1838 and graduated valedictorian 
in the class of 1842. On leaving college he read law for 
a year in the office of Sparrow & Matthews of Colum- 
bus, before entering the Harvard Law School. 

An active Whig partisan, even before he was a 
qualified voter, he enthusiastically supported General 
Harrison in 1840, and while a law student at Cambridge, 
Henry Clay. It has been related that on the occasion 
of a great Clay rally in Boston, noticing the absence of 
any banner indicating the support of Ohio men of Henry 
Clay, Hayes secured a rudely prepared placard bearing 
the inscription OHIO, and with his uncle joined in the 



10 Coitciiary Celebration 

procession which before the end of the parade had in- 
creased from two to some thirty odd Ohio Clay men, 
who were the recipients of enthusiastic applause. 

Soon after opening his law office in Lower Sandusky, 
in 1845, Hayes formed a legal partnership with Ralph P. 
Buckland, with whom he maintained a warm lifelong re- 
gard, the intimacy being strengthened by their joint serv- 
ice in the army during the War for the Union and in the 
House of Representatives, so that in the plans made in 
contemplation of receiving the White House gates for 
the Memorial Gateways of the Spiegel Grove State 
Park, provision has been made for a Buckland Gateway 
which, with the Cleveland Gateway, each as a single 
gate, would l)e made from one-half of one of the large 
double gates. 

The place now known as Spiegel Grove was ])ur- 
chased by Sardis lUrchard in 1845 for the fu'.ure h )me 
of his nephew and ward, but the construction of the 
house was not begun until fourteen years later, antici- 
pating the return of Hayes from Cincinnati to take up 
his permanent home in it. This however was deferred, 
owing first to the \Var and then to the two terms to 
which Haves was elected as a member of Congress, from 
which he resigned to enter the campaign for governor 
of Ohio, to which he was re-elected, so that it was not 
until 1873 that he returned ])ermanently to his home in 
Spiegel Ciro\'e where, on the Knoll, the mortal remains 
of his wife and himself are enclosed in the granite 
block, f|uarried from the farm in Dummerston, \'er- 
mont, whence his father migrated to Ohio in 1817. 

Hayes was a loyal Wh'g who opposed the Mexican 
War for the extension of slavery. Nevertheless after 
conferring with numerous friends, it was arrang^ed that 



Birtli of R utile r ford BircJiard Hayes 1 1 

he should go into the army with the company from 
Lower Sandusky, and be appointed its 2d Ueutenant, 
provided that certain distinguished physicians of Cin- 
cinnati thought his physical condition satisfactory, for 
he had broken down in health. He accordingly secured 
a substitute, none other than the Hon. Benjamin Inman, 
later a representative in the legislature, to accompany 
him to Cincinnati, where his hopes for military service 
were blasted by the decision of the physicians, and he 
was ordered to the extreme north, while the late Lewis 
Leppelman was commissioned in his place as 2d lieuten- 
ant of the company from Lower Sandusky. On recov- 
ering his health he made a trij) to Texas, and on his 
return arranged to remove to Cincinnati to continue the 
practice of his profession. 

His last appearance at the local bar of Lower San- 
dusky was as a commissioner appointed by the Court 
to report on a petition requesting the change of name 
of the village of Lower Sandusky. This was on account 
of the multiplicity of towns called Sandusky, within the 
less than one hundred miles from its source to Lake 
Erie, where the old fishing village, known during the 
War of 1812 as Ogontz Place, and later as Portland, 
had on account of the association of the name Port- 
land on Lake Erie with the cholera ravages of those 
days, dropped that name for "Sandusky City." The 
V. S. mails, carried by sailing craft on Lake Erie, were 
landed at the post office in the recentlv rechristened 
town of Sandusky City, with the inevitable result that 
the forwarding of the mail of the four older Sanduskies, 
further up the Sandusky River, had to wait the con- 
venience of the postmaster at Sandusky City. Mr. 



12 Centenary Celebration 

Hayes reported to the Court that there was but one 
remonstrance against chang-ing the name from Lower 
Sandusky which was in the form of a poem by the noted 
character, Thomas L. Hawkins. Mr. Hayes further 
reported in favor of the adoption of the name of Fre- 
mont in honor of the explorer who had further endeared 
himself to this democratic community by eloping with 
the beautiful Jessie Benton, daughter of the influential 
Senator Thomas H. Benton. The name Fremont was 
confirmed by the Court on this last appearance before 
Hayes's departure for Cincinnati in 1849. 

He was elected City Solicitor of Cincinnati, in 1857, 
by the City Council to fill a vacancy, was re-elected in 
1859, but was swept down in the Democratic tidal wave 
in Cincinnati in April, 1861, following the inauguration 
of Abraham Lincoln and the threatened war to preserve 
the Union which would naturally cut oft' all the Southern 
trade from Cincinnati. His last entry in his Diary be- 
fore entering the L^nion army was as follows: 

"May 15, 1861. Judge Matthews and I have agreed 
to go into the service for the war, if possible into the 
same regiment. I spoke my feelings to him which he 
said were his also, viz. : that this was a just and nec- 
essary war and that it demanded the whole power of 
the country; tJiaf I ■k'ouUI prefer to go info if if I knezv 
I Zi'as fo die or be killed in the eoitrse of if than to liz'e 
fhrough and affer if unflwuf faking any parf in if." 

Both Judge Matthews and himself, who were active 
supporters of Salmon P. Chase, were tendered 
Colonelcies through the latter's influence in Wash- 
ington, but each declined, preferring to go in a sub- 
ordinate capacity under a trained West Point officer 



Birfli of Rutherford Birchard Hayes 13 

until they could learn the rudiments of military life, and 
finally on the 6th of June, 1861, they were appointed 
by Governor William Dennison of Ohio, Judge Mat- 
thews as Lieutenant Colonel, and Hayes as Major of the 
23d Regiment of Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which was 
the first regiment recruited in Ohio "for three years or 
the war". 

It was also the first regiment in Ohio in which the 
field oiificers had not been elected, after log rolling, by 
the members of the regiment, but were appointed directly 
bv the Governor oi Ohio. Colonel Wm. S. Rosecrans, 
a distinguished graduate of the U. S. Military Academy, 
was appointed colonel of the regiment, but his services 
were within a week demanded as a general officer, and 
again Alatthews and Hayes declined the promotions ten- 
dered them to fill the vacancies, and secured the appoint- 
ment of another distinguished graduate of the Military 
Academy in the person of Colonel E. P. Scammon. 

Hayes's first service was in western A'irginia, but 
in August, 1862, as a member of General Jacob D. Cox's 
division, he joined the Army of the Potomac, covering 
the retreat of General Pope's army after the second 
battle of Bull Run, and as a part of the Army of the 
Potomac when General McClellan was restored to its 
command, and marched against Lee's army in Maryland 
in the Antietam campaign. He was severely wounded 
at South Mountain, September 14, 1862. Here his wife, 
Lucy Webb Hayes, joined him and served in the field 
hospital established after the battle of Antietam, the 
bloodiest one-day battle of the war. He was in all the 
battles of Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley campaign, 
Winchester, Cedar Creek and Opequan, in which he 



H 



Ccnfoiarx Celebration 



o-reatlv distiiiPir'shed himself and was promoted to 
i^rigadier General on the field, under Sheridan and 
Crook, the latter having cut oil his own Brigadier Gen- 
eral shoulder straps and presented them to General 
Hayes. He resigned and was mustered out on the 0th 
of June, 1865, after his service of exactly four years 
in which he had been six times wounded in battle and 

had four horses killed 
under him. In August, 
1864, he was nominated 
for Congress from the 
sec o n d Cincinnati dis- 
trict, and on Ijeing urged 
to return home on fur- 
lough and enter the cam- 
paign, having in mind the 
number of officers who 
had left the army to elec- 
tioneer for Congress in 
1862 and 1864, he indig- 
nantlv replied, "'Y o u r 
suggestion about getting 
RuTHEr.FORD B. Hayes a furlough to take the 

stump was certainly made without reflection. An offi- 
cer fit for duty, who at this crisis would abandon his 
post to electioneer for a scat in Congress ought to be 
scali)cd You may feel perfectly sure I shall do no such 
thing." 

Before the close of his second term in Congress he 
was nominated for Governor of Ohio and resigned to 
make the canvass. He served two terms as Governor 
of Ohio, and on his retirement in 1872 was solicited 




Birth of Riiilhcrfovd Bn chard Hayes 



1=; 



again to make the race for Congress in order to 
strengthen the Republican ticket under General Grant's 
candidacy for re-election as President, but the entire 
Republican ticket in Cincinnati was defeated o\v"ng to 
the defection to Greeley. He re'.urned to Fremont in 
the spring of 1873 and took uj) h's residence in Spiegel 
Grove, which he retained until his death January 17, 

li<*^^)3, although a 1) sent 

{ during his third term as 
Governor and his four 
years as President. He 
made yearly visits to his 
home and held the re- 
union of his old regiment, 
the 23d (3hio, when the 
second of the large gath- 
erings of the prominent 
ci\'ilians and soldiers of 
the United States was 
held in Spiegel Grove, 
and succeeding gather- 

t . - "ngs annually during his 

Lucv Webb Hayes ^erm of office as Presi- 

dent and once or twice each decade up to the dav of 
his death January 17, 18*)3. 

F^resident Hayes's return to Spiegel Grove after the 
inaugurati;)n of his successor, w^as delayed for twenty- 
four hours by a head-on collision of his special train 
in wh'ch se\-eral ])assengers were killed and members 
of his personal escfM't, the First Cleveland Troop, now 
Troop A of Ohio, which had escorted him from the 
White House to the Capitol for the Inaugural cere- 




i6 



Cciitoiary Celebration 



monies of James A. Garfield, and then as his escort 
home to Ohio, were severely injured. Twelve years 
later, after the death of President Hayes. Troop A, 
Captain Jacob B. Perkins commanding, served also in 
the provisional brigade of the Ohio National Guard, 
at his fimeral, under orders of Governor McKinlev, 




Funeral of President Hayes — Troop A, O. N. Guard. Captain J. B. 

Perkins 

as the escort of ex-President and now again President- 
elect, Grover Cleveland 

An interesting coincidence is that this Troop A, 
now^ under Captain Ralph Perkins, a son of the former 
commander, with many of the members of his command, 
also sons or grandsons of former members of the Troop, 
again served, thirty years later, at the head of the parade 



Birth of RittlH^rford Bircliard Hayes 17 

at the Centenary celebration of the birth of Rutherford 
B. Hayes, and ai)peared such dupHcates of their fathers 
or grandfathers that the old illustration of 1893 is used 
in this article. 

On his arrival at his old home, from the porch of 
the residence which had been doubled in size for his 
return, he delivered a few brief remarks outlining his 
views of what a president should do after his retirement 
from that high office to private life. He said: 

"What is to become of the man, what is he to do — 
who having been chief magistrate of the Republic, re- 
tires at the end of his official term to private life? It 
seems to me the reply is near at hand and sufficient. 
Let him like every other good American citizen be will- 
ing and prom])t to bear his part in every useful work 
that will promote the welfare and the happiness of his 
family, his town, his State and his country. With this 
disposition, he will have work enough to do and that 
sort of work that vields more individual contentment 
and gratification than belonged to the more conspicuous 
employments of the life from which he has retired." 

So he resumed active control of the Uirchard Library 
which he and his uncle Sardis Birchard had jointly 
founded. He revived his membership in Croghan Lodge 
L O. O. F. to which he belonged when he left Fremont 
in 1849; joined the Eugene Rawson Post of the G. A. R. ; 
organized the Sandusky County Pioneer and Historical 
Societv and became its first secretary; became a member 
of the Official Board of the First Methodist Church of 
which his wife and family were members ; interested 
himself in the introduction of the manual training de- 
partment of the public schools of the state ; actively par- 



i8 



Cciitciiarv Celebration 



ticipated as Trustee of the Western Reserve University 
at Cleveland, the Ohio Wesleyan University at Dela- 
ware, and began his very active connection as one of the 
Trustees and later as P'resident of the Board of Trustees 
of the Ohio State University at Columbus. 

During his first term as Governor of Ohio, in 1868, 
he had, in order to prevent the diss'pation of funds 




Spiegel Grove 

among the manv institutions demanding its div'sion, 
invested the receipts from the sale of the land grants, 
in the magnificent estate on North High Street, Colum- 
bus, on which are located the Ohio State Univers'ty and 
the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society, of 
which latter he was ])resident at the time of h's death. 
He became also the president of the Ohio Board of 
State Charities from which he widened h's interests, 
and remained to ihe end of h^'s life pres'dent of the 



Birth of Rtt filer ford Bircliard Hayes 19 

National Prison Reform Association; was president of 
the Slater Educational Fund; and a member of the 
Peabody Educational bund. At these meetings began 
the warm personal affection and regard between Grover 
Cleveland and himself, which culminated in the attend- 
ance of Grover Cleveland at his funeral His greatest 
pleasure, however, was :n attendance at the reunions 
of his regnient, the 23d ( ). \'. \'. I., and the Grand /Vrni}' 
gatherings at Detro't. and Columbus and his last in the 
city of Washington, where he marched afoot in the long 
procession down Pennsylvania Avenue to the reviewiug 
s'and. with his Grand Armv I^)St, side by side with its 
commander. This w^as in ( )ciol)er. 18^2. when he was 
seventy years of age and but three months before his 
dealh. Din-ing that reunion, he presided at the dedi- 
cation of the rough granite monument of ^lajor Gen- 
eral Ge;:rge Crook, the greatest hunter and Indian 
figh er :'n the U. S. Armv, with its l)ronze bas-relief rep- 
resen ing; the ca])ture of (ieronimo in the Sierra Madre 
m::untains of Mexico in 1883. General Crook was his 
immedia.e commander during the w-ar, and predecessor 
as pres"dent of the Society of the Army of West Vir- 
ginia, ."^t the dedication of the monument. Major Wil- 
liam McKirley delivered the ])rincipal oration. 

Last and mosi. enjoyable of all w^as his membership 
in the military order of the Loyal Legion of the United 
States of which he was the commander-in-chief at the 
time of h"s death, 'n direct succession to Hancock and 
Sheridan, each of whom continued as commander-in- 
ch'ef from election t 11 dea h. L^e had joined the Illinois 
commandery soon after his retirement as president, and 
later was transferred to become a charter member of 



20 



Centcnar\ Celebration 



the Ohio Commanderv at Cincinnati of which he was 
elected the first commander. He was re-elected several 
times as commander and until his declination, on his 
election as senior vice commander-in-chief with Major 
General Winfield S. Hancock as commander-in-chief; 




Drawing room with glimpse of Mrs. Hayes reading in library 

and was succeeded as commander of the Ohio com- 
mandery by General William Tecumseh Sherman. 
On the death of Major General Hancock, General 
Hayes insisted on withdrawing in favor, as Commander- 
in-Chief, of General Philip H. Sheridan, our greatest 



Birth of Rutherford Birchard Hayes 21 

battle general ; but upon Sheridan's death General Hayes 
was unanimously elected Commander-in-Chief of the 
Loyal Leg-ion, which position he held at the time of 
his death. 

Of the fifteen presidents of the United States who 
served in the wars of our country, none other than 
General Hayes was wounded in battle, with the exce])- 
tion of President James Monroe, when a lieutenant at 
the battle of Trenton, in 1777. General Hayes was 
wounded six times during his four years of service. 

At the reunions at Spiegel Grove, President Hayes 
instituted the practice which has since been carried out 
by his son, Colonel Webb C. Hayes, of naming trees in 
the Grove after distinguished visitors. The largest tree 
in the Grove, an enormous white oak, was originally 
christened "Old Betsy", in honor of the old 6-])()under 
used by Croghan in the defense of Fort Stephenson, 
and later presented by Congress to be placed on the site 
of the old Fort which was then usually called Sandusky. 
This gun had been stored in the arsenal at Allegheny, 
but had been recognized by certain marks and ship])ed 
by water till landed at the town on the lake called San- 
dusky City, where it was promptly buried in the sand, 
in the hope that at some future day the honors and 
glories gained in the defense of Fort Stephenson at 
Lower Sandusky (which name had been changed to 
Fremont in 1849) could be claimed by this newer town. 
A noted character, Thomas L. Hawkins, had recognized 
the gun, and the then mayor of Lower Sandusky, Brice 
J. Bartlett, organized an expedition of men and teams 
which marched over to the lake shore where "Old Betsy" 
was disinterred and brought home in triumph to Fort 




CoLuxF.L Webi! C. Havi:s M. H. 

Regioral Commissicner A. E. F. in Prance and Xorth Afri a who was 
decorated at Fez, Mcro:co, August 1">, H'lH. by General Lyantey. French 
Resident General as representative of the Sultan of Morocco. In 1M14, 
before America entered the war, he served as a dispatch bearer between 
the American Ambassadors in Paris, London, Berlin and Brussels. In IIHT 
after the Italian debacle on the Piave, he served with Gen. Garabaldi's 
command, with Bri:ish and French brigades. Colonel Hayes also served 
in the war with Spain, through the campaigns of Santiago de Cuba where 
he was wounded ard had his horse killed, and through the campaign in 
Porto Rico, being recommended for brevets in each campaign ; the Philip- 
pine Insurrection where he was awarded the Congressional Medal of 
Honor for distinguished gallantry at Vi ;an, P. I., Dec. 4. 18!'!), by order 
of President Roosevek ; and served or the staff of Major General Chaffee, 
commanding the China Relief Expedition of l!HHl. 

(22) 



Birth of Kiithcrford Bj chard Hayes 23 

rtcphcnson. On the 4lh of July following, 1852, a 
mammoth jollification was held in Spicgjl Gr.)ve under 
the large oak directl}' in front of the fu.ure Hayes 
residence. 'I his was called the "Old Hetsy" Tree until 
rechnstened the Warren (i. Hardng Oak a^ a later 
celebration on the 4ih of Octoher, 19z0, \.hen a br.)nze 
tablet erected by Colonel Webb C. Hayes n memory of 
his Comrades of Sandusky Ccun.y in the War with 
!- ])ain and m the World War was unveiled by his w.fe. 
Alary Miller Hayes. The ded catory exercises included 
an address by Senator Warren G. Harding, the Repub- 
lican candidate for President of the United States. At 
the celebrations :n S])iegel Grove during the lifetime of 
J 'resident Hayes, many trees were named after distin- 
guished visitors, and christened by the laying on of 
hands. At the first reunion of his regiment, in 1877, 
trees named in honor of Gen. I'hilip H. Sheridan, the 
battle general of the war for the Union ; the great 
strategist iMajor General W^illiam S. Rosecrans, the first 
Colonel of the 23d Ohio; Ibfigadier General E. P. Scam- 
mon, the second Colonel of the 23d ( )h'o, of which 
General Ha\-es was the third Colonel; and General 
James M. Comly, the fourth Colonel of the 23d Ohio; 
and Associate Justice Stanley iMatthews, first Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel of the 23d ( )hio, were all duly christened 
at the banquet given under the famous oaks which have 
since been called the Reunion Oaks. Oak trees were also 
named in honor of Major General George Crook, the 
famous hunter and Indian fighter of the U. S. Army; 
and of Chief justice Morrison R. Waite, a res'dent of 
Ohio; and subsequently trees were named in honor of 
•General ^V'lb'am Tecumseh Sherman and of President 




Mrs. Webb C. Hayes and Sergeant Daltox Hayes, Co. D, 

I60TH Infantry 

At the Y. M. C. A. American Soldiers Leave Area, Nice, France, 

December, 19l8 

(24) 



Birth of Ritthcrfurd Bircliard Hayes 25 

James A. Garfield. At the funeral of President Hayes, 
who died on the 17th of January, 18*)3. the most dis- 
tinguished visitors were ex-President Grover Cleveland, 
now again a President-elect, who made the long journey 
in the midst of winter, from Princeton to Spiegel Grove 
to signify his friendship and high regard for President 
Hayes; and Governor William McKinley of Ohio, who 
four years later was inaugurated President of the United 
States, the second member of the famous 23d Ohio to 
hold the exalted office of President of the United States. 
^^'hen the Presidential carriage used in Washington 
during the Hayes and short Garfield administrations 
and in which all the Presidents of the United States 
from Grant to McKinley had ridden, as well as all the 
leading generals of the Union army and other distin- 
guished persons, was driven, up to the porch to receive 
President Cleveland, the horses, startled at the Ijlare of 
trumpets and the waving plumes and brilliant capes of 
the soldiers, plunged forward, almost running into a 
large hickory tree against which President Cleveland 
placed his hand to save himself from falling, whereupon 
it was intimated to him that there was great propriety 
in naming this rugged shag-bark hickory, the tree 
emblem of Democrary, in honor of the great Democrat. 
Foiu" years later the 23d Ohio Regiment again held 
its reunion in Spiegel Grove, at which time President 
McKinley, Secretary of War Alger, and Senator Hanna 
of Ohio were the leading guests in attendance at the 
reimion, ]:)receded as it was by the wedding of Miss 
Fanny, the only datighter of President Hayes. A large 
circular platform had been erected around a group of 
five or six oak trees which were very appropriately 
named the McKinlev Oaks of 1897. 



26 



Cciitciiarx Celebration 



At another reunion of the old 23d Regimen l, held on 
the porch of Spiegel Grove in 1906, Rear Admiral 
Charles E. Clark, U. S. X., a frequent visitor of Colonel 
Webb C. Hayes since their joint service in the militarv 
and naval campaigns of Santiago de Cuba in 1898, 
during the War with S])ain. made one of his inimital)le 
addresses, after which he chose for his tree a beautiful 




Winter Scene in Spiegel Grove 



oak southeast of the house; as later did also Lieutenanl- 
General S. B. M. Young, on whose staff Col!)nel Hayes 
served in Cuba and the Philippines, in the latter cani- 
])aign winning the much coveted Congressional Medal 
of Honor. 

Subsequently the William H. Taft Oak was named 
in honor of the Repuld'can candidate for President, on 
the occasion of It's v^'sit to Sj^iegel Grove in 1908. In 



Birth of RittJicrford BlrcJiurd Hayes 



27 



company with judge Taft was Liculcnant-General 
Henry C. Corl)in, Adjutant General of the Arni\- during- 
the War with S])ain, for whom an Oak was named. 




Plat of Spiegel Grove 



Spiegel Grove was deeded to the State of Ohio for a 
State Park in three deeds in 1909 and 1910, by Colonel 
Hayes, as a memorial to his parents, with the single 
proviso that it should be maintained as a State Park 



28 Centenary Celebration 

in which the (jlcl Sandusky-Scioto Trail from Lake Erie 
to the Ohio River, connecting the St. Lawrence and the 
Great Lakes with the Ohio andMississippi. later known 
as the Harrison Trail of the War of 1812, should be 
preserved and maintained as a Park drive for the half 
mile from its northern entrance at the Croghan Gateway 
to its southern entrance at the Harrison Gateway ; and 
that the trees in the Grove should be marked with their 
common and scientific names, to make them instructive 
and interesting to visitors. Subsequently the residence 
and all the personal effects. Library, Americana, histor- 
ical papers and collections of both Rutherford B. Hayes 
and his son. Colonel Webb C. Hayes, were tendered 
to the State conditional only on the library and collec- 
tions being i)reserved in a fireproof building north of 
the residence. The State of Ohio and Colonel Hayes 
jointly erected and equipped what is now known as the 
Hayes Memorial at an expense of about ^100,000 and 
this year has seen the dedication of the library and 
museum annex, more than doubling the size of the 
museum, and with a stackroom library capacity capable 
of holding a quarter of a million volumes, which Colonel 
Haye^ erected to com|)lete his memorial to his father 
and mother. In this 1)eautiful addition the plans call 
for the practical duplication of the library room of Dr. 
Charles Richard Williams, the author of the "Life" of 
President Hayes and the editor of the "Sixtv Years of 
Diaries and Letters." It will ])e known as the Charles 
Richard Williams Library and Reading Room, and Dr. 
AA^illiams has announced his intention of presenting to it 
his own magnificent library. Curiously enough. Dr. 
Williams's library room at Princeton was the room 
occupied and used by President Wilson from the time 



Birth of Ritfh/srford Bircliard Hayes 29 

of his resignation as President of Princeton University, 
during his term as Governor of New Jersey and until 
his inauguration as President of the United States; 
while the house itself was erected on land formerly 
owned l)y President Grover Cleveland after his retire- 
ment to Princeton. 

At the dedication of the Hayes Annex, Dr. Williams 
delivered the address on behalf of the Society, prior to 
which one of the fine white oaks nearest to his library 
and reading-room was named in his honor; as were also 
oaks in honor of ex-Governor James E. Campbell, the 
President of the Ohio Archaeological and Historical So- 
ciety; and of Major General Joseph T. Dickman, a 
native lUickeye, who had served with Colonel Hayes in 
Cuba, the Philii)])ines, China, and in the World War. 
General Dickman, the foremost American soldier in the 
World War, took overseas the 3d American Division of 
Regulars, which he commanded at Chateau Thierry, and 
until ])romoted to the command of the 4th American 
Corps, the 1st American Corps and the 3d American 
Army, which latter he led to the Rhine as the Army of 
Occupation in Germany. Major General Dickman was 
especially deputed to represent President Warren G. 
Harding at the Centenary celebration of the birth of 
Rutherford B. Hayes. 

THE PARADE 
The parade formed at Fort Stephenson under Grand 
Marshal John R. McQuigg, with his Chief of Staff, 
Colonel M. C. Cox, and Aides representing the military 
organizations, and his personal escort. Troop A of Ohio, 
now Troop A 107th Cavalr^■. The Troop were splendid 
in their Hussar uniforms and bearskin Busbies, which 




H 



(30) 



Birth of Rnllkrford H.iclund Hayes 31 

thev had not worn sjicc their atlcr.dance as the personal 
escort of Tresident-elett Taft, on March 4, 190^. S.nce 
that time they had ajjpeared <!nly in the olive-cb-al) ser- 
vice nniform ( f the army, nolalil_\- at the i^real flood in 
Fremont in I'Ho, when d smonnted, they served the city 
so efficientlv, ns'ni^" the l)asement of the h^irst Presby- 
ter an chnreh for sleeping quarters; followed by their 
serxice on the Mexican border in 191()-17, and with 
America's ])articipation in the World War of I'M/ as 
a regiment of artiiler}- in b ranee and Ilelginm. 

The parade marched from Fort Stephenson east i)asL 
the City Hall to Arch Street, thence to State, headed 
Iv two automobiles l)earing Mayor Wm. H. Schwartz, 
Ser\ice 1 'director K. H. Russell, and President of Coun- 
cil b P)ell Smith, in one; and County Commissioners 
Clarke, Ritzman and Rogers, with Surveyor W^ismer, 
in the other; two motorcycle policemen and a pLatoon of 
Boy Scouts of America leading the Hue of march. 

Colonel Frank Halstead commanded the first Divi- 
sion, composed of the 11th U. S. Infantry and the 
Toledo r)attery of the ( )hio National (luard, all fully 
ef|uipped and armed for active field service. They 
formed on Arch street south of Fort Stephenson. 

The second division consisting; of the United Spanish 
W^ar \>terans of Ohio and the Department of Ohio 
American begion, with Commander Albert D. Alcorn 
of the Spanish War X'eterans in command, formed on 
Croghan Street west of Fort Stephenson; while the 
Third Division, under Commander G M Saltgaber, of 
the Department of Ohio Grand Army of the Republic, 
wdth G. A. R. Post in automol)iles, formed on High 
street north of Fort Stephenson. 



32 Centenary Celebration 

The Fourth Division of Floats, accompanied by mem- 
bers of the local fraternal organizations under command 
of Marshal Frank Ging, formed on State Street right 
resting on Arch. The 11th U. S. Infantry Pjand 
marched at the head of the Military, or First Division; 
the Light Guard Band of Fremont at the head of the 
Spanish War and World War \>terans, or the Second 
Division; the Modern Woodman's Band in their spotless 
white uniforms headed the Third, or Grand Army Divi- 
sion ; and the youthful High School Band, in their ])urple 
and white ca])es, marched at the head of the large dele- 
gation of Elks who portrayed on a mammoth float a 
scene of Betsy Ross making the first American Flag. 

The line of march was profusely decorated. State 
Street, Front Street, Birchard and lUickland Avenues 
to the Croghan Gateway of the Spiegel Grove State 
Park, where over 100 Campfire Girls and Girl Scouts 
joined the procession and marched with it over the old 
Sanduskv-Scioto Trail, under the great trees of the 
Grove, past the little lakes and the Knoll where, standing 
euard over the oranite monument in which are encased 
the remains of their beloved Commander and his wife, 
stood the few survivors of the gallant old 23rd (). \\ V. 
L, the regiment of Hayes and McKinley. The veterans 
had kn'ingly draped their regimental flag over the monu- 
ment. The parade continued along the brow of the 
hill to where the Trail descends through the Harrison 
Gatewav to the old French and Indian si)ring, where it 
halted. Meanwhile the Campfire Girls and Girl Scouts, 
passing through the Cleveland Gateway to the McKinley 
Memorial Parkway, stationed themselves, each at a 
Buckeve tree memorializing the Sandusky County 



Birth of Riitliicrfoi'd Dirchard Hayes 33 

heroes who gave their lives in the service of their conn- 
trv in the War with Spain and in the World War. At 
a trumpet signal, blown from the top of the Overseas 
Soldiers" MenK^-ial Sunroom of the Memorial Hospital 
of Sandusky County, each girl knelt and draped a 
memorial tree while Taps was sounded on the trumpet. 
Immediately thereafter General McOu"gg, at the head 
of the procession started up the Memorial P*arkway to 
its intersection with the McKinley Memorial Parkway, 
where the reviewing stand was erected. 

Here were gathered Major General Joseph T. Dick- 
man, U. S. A., of Ohio, the most successful American 
general in the World War, and the special represen- 
tative at the Centenary of President Warren G. Hard- 
ing; Major General Clarence R. Edwards, a native of 
Cleveland, who commanded overseas the famous 26th 
or Yankee Division, through the \\'orld War; former 
Governor James E. Campbell, President of the Ohio 
State Archaeological and Historical Society, who wore 
the uniform of a comrade (^f the G. A. R. ; members of 
the Hayes fanvly, and Trustees and officers of the 
Society. 

After passing in review, the i)rocession turned 
sharplv to the right, countermarched on passing the 
Cleveland Gateway, thence north through the Parkway 
to Haves Avenue, east past the Memorial Gateway to 
the Heroes of the \\'ar with Spain and the World War, 
and was dismissed. 

Battery A of Toledo, after passing the reviewing 
stand, galloped into position and fired the naticnial salute 
of twenty-one guns. 

Marshal Ging's Eloats Division, as well as the Grand 



34 Centenary Celebration 

Army Division in automobiles, on arriving at the Cro- 
ghan Gateway into Spiegel Grove, continued out Hayes 
Avenue to the northern entrance of the Parkway and 
thence south to the reviewing stand where they wit- 
nessed the passing of the military and soldier division 
before themselves passing in review before the Grand 
Stand; thence past the Cleveland Gateway into the Mc- 
Kinley Memorial I^arkway, and past the Memorial 
Gateway, where they too were dismissed. 

FLOATS 
The floats illustrating local history of national im- 
portance were admirably designed and executed, re- 
flecting great credit on the enthusiastic and artistic skill 
of the makers. They represented personages, scenes 
and events and were prepared by difl:'erent organizations 
as follows : 

1. (By the I. O. O. F.) The Neutral Cities of 1650, 
the first more or less authentic date in our local history. 

2. (By St. Joseph Church.) French explorers and 
missionaries, Marquette and Joliet, explorers to the Mis- 
sissippi in 1673 ; Hennepin, who explored the upper Mis- 
sissippi in 1680, and La Salle, the greatest of French 
explorers, who discovered the Ohio and Illinois rivers, 
sailed in the "Griffin" on Lake Erie, floated down the 
Mississippi to its mouth and claimed possession of that 
country, which he named Louisiana after the French 
King Louis 14th. 

3. (By the Elks.) Betsy Ross making the first 
American Flag in 1776. 

4 and 5. (By Grace and St. John Lutheran 
Churches.) The Moravians, Zeisberger and Hecke- 



Birth of R lit kerf ord Birchard Haves 35 

welder, and their Indian converts, brought as prisoners 
to the Lower Falls by a white renegade, Simon Girty, 
from whom they were rescued and protected by De 
Peyster, the British commandant, at Detroit, to which 
place they were taken by boat in 1781. 

6. ( By the Daughters of the American Revolution.) 
James and Elizabeth Whittaker, the first permanent 
white settlers in Ohio, who were captured in Pennsyl- 
vania as children and were later adopted by the Wyan- 
dottes. After their marriage at Lower Sandusky in 
1781, they were presented by the Lidians with a home on 
the Sandusky River, which has since been known as the 
Whittaker Reserve of 1200 acres. James Whittaker 
became a "white" Wyand(nte, and fought with the 
Indians under Little Turtle in the final battle for 
supremacy at Fallen Timbers, where General Anthony 
Wayne crushed the Lidian conspiracy forever in 1794. 

7. (By the First Presbyterian Church.) Rev. Rich- 
ard Badger, a Presbyterian missionary to the Lidians, a 
graduate of Yale College, fought in the battle of Bunker 
Hill and later as a missionary to the Indians built his 
cabin near the factor's house, later Fort Stephenson, 
in the year 1807, where he taught the Indian and white 
children. He later served as scout with General Har- 
rison's northwestern army during the War of 1812, 
and d}-ing in his 90th year, was buried at Perrysburg. 

8. (By the M. E. Church. ) James Montgomerv in 
1819, the first itinerant Methodist preacher in this re- 
gion, with his horse and saddle bags and Indian con- 
verts. 

9. (By the Exchange Club. ) The defense of Fort 
Stephenson by Major Croghan, 17th Inf., with K^O men 



36 Centenary Celebration 

and "Old Betsy" against 2000 British and Indians under 
Proctor and Teciimseh, the British troops having- been 
brought up the river on Captain Barclay's fleet. When 
the British assault was repulsed on August 2, Lieutenant 
Colonel Shortt and Lieutenant Gordon with many 
others were left dead in the ditch in front of the pickets. 

10. (By the Kiwanis Club.) The Battle of Lake 
Erie and selected as model the w^ell-known picture where 
Perry is leaving his sinking flagship, the Lazi'rcucc, to 
be rowed to the Niagara, from the decks of which he 
destroyed and captured the fleet of the British Captain 
Barclay, September 10, 1813. 

11. (By the Pioneer and Historical Society of San- 
dusky County. ) An old pioneer wagon drawn by a fine 
pair of oxen. A pioneer family in the wagon and men 
accompanying it, on foot, with ancient flint lock rifles, 
were all realistic enough. 

12. (By the Woman's Relief Corps.) Scenes from 
the War for the Union. 

13. (Bv the Edgar Thurston Post American Le- 
gion.) Scenes in the World War and graves in Flan- 
ders. 

DEDICATION OF PARKWAYS AND GATEWAYS 
The dedication of the Soldiers' Memorial Parkway 
took place as the procession passed through the parkway 
and the Memorial Gates were dedicated at the conclusion 
of the parade. 

The Soldiers' Memorial Parkway of Sandusky 
County, conceived by Colonel Hayes and tendered to 
the County in a cablegram from France on the day 



Birth of Riitlii^rford Birchard Hayes 37 

following the signing of the armistice, was laid out in 
the form of a cross through property presented by him 
to the Society. This parkway, constructed jointly by 
the Society and the Commissioners of Sandusky County, 
consists of a strip 100 feet wide in which two rows of 
buckeve trees ( the insignia of the 37th or Ohio Divi- 
sion ) have been planted. To each tree is attached a 
memorial plate containing the name, organization, place 
and date of death of the soldiers of Sandusky cr)unty 
who gave their lives in the World War. 

The transept of the cross is the McKinley Memorial 
Parkwav extending from the McKinley Circle to the 
Cleveland Gateway into Spiegel Grove state park on 
which the memorial trees in honor of the dead of the 
campaigns of the war with Spain, during President 
McKinley's administration, have been planted. 

Croghan Gateway was the first of the five memorial 
gateways leading into Spiegel Grove, to be dedicated 
and this was done amid a beautiful and inspiring cere- 
monial. Grouped at the entrance were fully a hundred 
Camp Fire Girls, white-clad, each bearing a flag. These 
fell in line with the Boy Scouts who headed the proces- 
sion and then took position on the Hayes Avenue side of 
the entrance. Lined up on this same side was the mag- 
nificent Black Horse cavalry. Troop A, every man but 
three, overseas soldiers, in the World War. Horse and 
man stood like one, veritably moulded together, and this 
wonderful exhibition was the admiration of all the spec- 
tators. Meanwhile, the ofificers of the 11th U. S. In- 
fantry, on their prancing steeds, took position on the 
large mound, directly in front of the entrance, while 
Colonel Frank Halstead, 11th U S Infantrv. drew aside 




ra •'- .— ■f'-"' ^- >. 2 & "-^ § 

u ^ o i; — o" 



" r- ■*" O -„ C ' 



"3 ^ X — 



w ' t/:i- 






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?!K>rS' 



"^ -i- 5 'S.-- t— rarf' c ^ ' ^ 
.5 i^-''.^S.||l§ ,; ^ 



1- £ !:t J' 1^ p 

M" i ; ■- — 



Birth of Riithfrford Birchard Hayes 39 



the flags covering the tablet in honor of his fellow 
officer of the regular army. Major George Croghan, 
17th U. S. Infantry. The Grand Marshal of the parade, 
Brigadier General John R. McQuigg, O. N. G., late of 
the 37th Division A. E. F., surrounded by his Staff, 
drew aside the flags which draped the pink Westerly 
granite tablet in honor of the old Sandusky-Scioto Trail, 
later known as the Harrison Trail of the War of 1812. 
The tablet on the Cleveland Gateway was unveiled 
by former Governor James E. Cami)bell, President of 
the Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society. 

The Gateways into the Spiegel Grove State Park are 
six in mmiber. two for pedestrians only, and each of 
the gate posts has either an historic or a memorial 
tablet. The War Department, a decade ago, when it 
learned of the proposed memorial gateways in honor of 
Major General William Henry Harrison of the War of 
1812, and Major General James, B. McPherson of the 
War for the Union, gladly presented four huge, 10-inch 
Rodman cannon, topped by 15-inch balls, to stand as 
gateposts. President Harding, on learning of the in- 
tention to add split-boulder gateways with memorial 
tablets, in honor of the soldiers of Sandusky County 
who served in the other wars of our County, and of 
the desire to secure historic iron gates for each of the 
entrances, tendered the five double gates on West Ex- 
ecutive Avenue, adjoining the White House, which 
being a menace to ])ublic safety, were to be removed. 

The parade was over a little before noon. Immedi- 
ately thereafter the speakers and distinguished guests, 
to the number of over one hundred, were entertained at 



40 Ccntoiary Celebration 



THE CROGHAX GATEWAY 
(Northern Entrance of Trail throut>'li Grove) 
In honor of Alajor George Croghan, 17th U. S. Infantry, 
who with IGO men and one cannon, "Old Betsy," defended Fort Stephen- 
son against 7(10 British under Proctor and -J.ooo Indians 
under Tecumseh, August 1st and 2nd, 1813 
Old Sandusky-Scioto Trail, 
Lake Erie to Ohio River, connecting 
the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes, 
with the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. 
The Harrison Trail. War of 1812. 
Bird and Game Sanctuary. 




:^ 



(41) 



42 Centenary Celebration 



THE HARRISON GATEWAY 
(Southern Entrance of Trail through Grove) 

FRENCH-INDIAN TRAIL 

IGTO-lTdo 

Sandu.-ky-Scioto Trail 

Lake Erie to Ohio River. 

Used by Indian and French Hunters, 

Explorers and War Parties from 

the St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes 

to the Ohio and the Mississippi, after 

the surrender of Quebec and 

French Sovereignty in Canada, 

September 10, ITlio. 

BRITISH-INDIAN TRAIL 

17(30-17!i(i 

Sandusky -SciotoTrail 

Lake Erie to Ohio River. 

Used by Indian, British and Colonial Rangers. 

Rogers Colonial Rangers against the French, ITliO. 

Bradstreet's British Army against Pontiac, 17(i4. 

Butler's British Rangers against Crawford, 1782. 

Proctor's British Army against Ft. Stephenson, 1813. 

Called after the American Invasion of Canada in 1813, 

"The Harrison Trail." War of 1812. 




(43) 



44 Centenary Celebratio)i 



THE McPHERSOX GATEWAY 

WAR WITH MEXICO 

In honor of 

Captain Samuel Thompson, 

wounded at Lundy's Lane, Canada, 

in the second war with Great Britain, 

and the Soldiers of Sandusky County in the 

War with Mexico, 

184G-1S48. 

WAR FOR THE UNION 

In honor of 

Major General James B. McPherson, 

the highest in rank and command, 

killed during the war, 

and the \'eterans of Sandusky County in the 

War for the Union, 1861-1865. 




(45) 



46 Ceutcnarv Celebration 



THE MEMORIAL GATEWAY 

In memory of 

Seaman George B. Meek, U. S. Xavy. 

The first American killed in battle 

and his comrades from Sandusky County, 

who served in the campaigns in 

Cuba, Porto Rico, Philippines and China, 

War with Spain, 1898-1901. 

In memory of 

Edgar Thurston, killed in France: 

Corporal Co. K. 117 Inf., 74th Brig.. 87th Div., A. E. p., 

and his comrades from Sandusky County, who 

served in France, Belgium, Italy, Russia, 

Siberia, Morocco and America. 

World War, lf»14-l!)18. 




o 



H 



(47) 



4^ Ceiifciiary Celebration 



CLEVELAND GATEWAY 

McKINLEY MEMORL-\L PARKWAY 

In Honor of 

GROVER CLEVELAND 

22nd President of the United States, 1885-LSSi», President-elect for the 

term, ISfCVLSi)! and 

WILLIAM MCKINLEY 

Governor of Ohio, lS!)2-L'^!»(i, later 2Uh President 

of the United States, 1S!)7-1!I0L 

Mourners at the funeral of their predecessor. 

RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES 

li'th President of the United States, LS77-1881, 

who died in Spiegel Grove, January 17th, 1893. 

THE BUCKLAXD GATEWAY 

In memory of 
GENERAL RALPH P. DUCKLAND 




(49) 



50 Centenary Cclcbratiuu 

luncheon in the residence at Spiegel Grove, while at the 
same time on the first iloor of the Library Annex the 
officers of the 11th Infantry and Toledo Battery, and the 
Band of the 11th Infantry; together with all the sur- 
vivors of the famous old 23d O. Y. \. I., and their 
families were specially served by the daughter, daugh- 
ters-in-law, and granddaughter-in-law of their old 
Commander and his wife. General and Mrs. Hayes. 
Here, too, luncheon was served to Troop A, which had 
been the personal escort of President Hayes at Wash- 
ington, on his return to Ohio, and at his funeral. 
Colonel Webb C. Hayes had been a member, active or 
veteran, of this Troop for over 41 years. Colonel Hal- 
stead of the 11th Infantry, Captain Perkins of Troop 
A, Major General Edwards, and Grand Marshal Mc- 
Quigg, made addresses between the songs, at the im- 
promptu meeting of which Colonel Hayes was the mas- 
ter of ceremonies. 

DEDICATION OF THE LIBRARY AND MUSEUM 
ANNEX TO THE HAYES MEMORIAL 

Promptly at 1 :30 P. M., after a patriotic number by 
the 11th Infantry Band, ex-Governor James E. Camp- 
bell, President of the Ohio State Archaeological and 
Historical Society, called the meeting to order, and the 
Rev. Dr. William E. Peirce, President of Kenyon Col- 
lege, dressed in his academic robes, delivered the fol- 
lowing invocation : 

Almighty God, whose days are without end and whose mercies 
cannot be numbered, we render unto Thee most high praise and 
hearty thanks for the good examples of Thy servants the founders 
and preservers of this Repubhc. who were a light to the world in 
their day and generation. More especiallv upon this centennial 



Birth of Ritthfyford Hirchard Hayes 51 

of his natal day do we thank Thee for the noble life and eminent 
service of Rutherford Birchard Hayes. May his spirit of earnest 
and unselfish labor for the welfare of the state, of exalted patriot- 
ism in war and peace, of high and noble principle in of^cial 
conduct ever live among us and its influence grow more potent 
as century passes into century. 

And to us of this generation give, we beseech Thee, thy 
heavenly grace that we may always approve ourselves a people 
mindful of Thy favor and glad to do Thy will. Bless our land 
with honorable industry, sound learning and pure manners. 
Defend our liberties ; preserve our unity ; further and bless all 
honest endeavors for the good administration of our civil alTairs ; 
save us from fraud and violence, discord and confusion; from 
pride and arrogance, dejection and resentment, and from every 
evil way. Endue with the spirit of wisdom and of justice those 
whom we intrust in Thy name with the authority of government 
to the end that the blessings of ordered liberty and the rights 
of free citizenship may be preserved among us from generation 
to generation. In the time of our prosperity fill our hearts with 
thankfulness, and in the day of trouble suffer not our trust in 
Thee to fail. Let right prevail and truth and honor be main- 
tained to the praise and glory of Thy holy name, through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. A men. 

President Campbell then introduced his Honor, 
Mayor William H. Schwartz, who on account of the 
lengthy prog-ram welcomed the guests in the first eight 
words of his prepared address, which was as follows: 

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen : You are welcome ! 

Alembers of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical 
Society through whose efforts we are honored today by this 
celebration commemorating the one-hundredth anniversary of 
the birth of Rutherford B. Hayes, nineteenth president of the 
L^nited States, Fremont bids yovi welcome. 

To all you honorable gentlemen, representatives of this great 
nation and state, who honor us by your presence at this celebra- 
tion in honor of one of America's greatest statesmen, we bid 
you welcome. 

To you soldiers of the civil war, who fought with him whom 
we honor today, we assure you that we are proud to have you 
with us today ; to you soldiers of the world war and the war 
with S])ain. who have brought honor to your flag and country 



52 



Cciitoiary Celebration 



by your brave and heroic deeds across 
the sea ; to the miHtary organizations 
that participated in this celebration in 
honor of a great soldier and states- 
man, we bid each and all a hearty 
welcome. 

Let us not be unmindful of the 
wonderful things that have come to 
our fair city by having had Ruther- 
ford B. Hayes as a citizen. Let us 
not forget to give credit and honor 
to our citizens, Colonel and Mrs. 
\\ ebb C. Hayes, who conceived and 
were instrumental in having built the 
finest Soldiers' Memorial Parkway 
in the world. 

In closing 1 again thank all of you 
who have helped to make this celebration a success. The keys of 
the citv are vours, use them to unlock its manv treasure houses. 




^^AV(>R Wm. H. Schwartz 



President Campbell then paid 
a brief but glowing tribute to 
President Hayes, with whom he 
was ])ersonally accptainted and 
of whom he was very fond. He 
also uttered a feeling encomium 
upon Colonel Webb C. Hayes 
for the deep filial affection 
shown l3y him for his father and 
mother, and the costly and beau- 
tiful memorial to them in Spiegel 
Grove. He drew attention to 
the lengthy program, excused himself from extended 
remarks and referred his hearers to the address that he 
delivered here October 4, 1920, on the ninety-eighth 
anniversary of the birth of F^resident Hayes. He then 
read the following letter from President Warren G. 
Harding: 




Iamf.s E. Campbell 



Birth of Rutherford Birchard Hayes 53 

The White House 
Washington 

September 30. 1922. 
My dear Governor Campbell: 

I have delayed answering yonr appealing invitation to come 
to Spiegel Grove on October fourth for the dedication of the 
Hayes Memorial Library Addition, the Memorial Gateways of 
the' Spiegel Grove State Park, and the Soldiers' Memorial Park- 
wav. It being now apparent that 1 cannot indulge myself in 
the satisfaction of personal attendance, and participate in your 
tribute to President Hayes on the centenary anniversary of his 
birth, 1 desire to at least express some sentiments which this 
occasion inspires. 

Perhaps I owe to my Ohio nativity and my neighborship 
wdth the Hayes family the fact that from young manhood I 
have maintained a particular interest in the career of President 
Hayes and the period preceding and including his term as Presi- 
dent. At any rate, I have always considered that he was by 
intellect, by moral and temperamental qualities peculiarly fitted 
for the difficult task of administration wdiich confronted him as 
Chief Executive. 

It is difficult sometimes to understand the inspirations or 
hindrances to the full appraisal of a great public service. There 
are the prejudices of the hour, the cross currents in our politics, 
the embittered conflicts of policy. Surrounded though he was 
by these things. President Hayes was yet above them, and the 
deliberate students of history wall rate him one of the great 
Presidents of the Republic. 

I suspect that some of my early examinations into the facts, 
as contrasted with the prejudices, regarding the Hayes admin- 
isration, were largely responsible for a theory that our estimates 
of American public men have often been distorted by partisan- 
ship and prejudice. I strongly feel that more study of the men 
and events of our national history would lead us to sounder 
judgments concerning them, and better understandings of the 
procedures by which, under our institutions, the highest aims may 
be attained. 

It has always been a matter of interest to me that President 
Lincoln, the leader in saving the nation ; President Grant, the 
great soldier of the cause ; and President Hayes, under whom 
the national reconstruction was brought to so gratifying a con- 
clusion, all made visits to the South as young men, and all were 
greatly influenced by their observations of the institution of 
slaverv and its effect on general conditions. I think General 
Grant's storv of his southern experiences before and during the 



54 Ccntcnarx Celebration 

Mexican War is much more familiar than is that of General 
Hayes ; but both are charming narratives. That of General 
Hayes is particularly illuminating because it can be read in the 
diary which he kept, and which, like a few other journals of 
eminent Americans, has been the source of so much valuable 
contribution to history. 

To me, the study of the developing character of this man 
who was building his way toward leadershij) of the Nation, has 
been intensely interesting. It is certainly suggestive that in the 
diarv of his early experiences as a young lawyer in Cincinnati, 
he should have written down at considerable length and with the 
utmost care, the record of conversation with many men whom 
he regarded highly. In some of these entries, he tells of his 
conversation with Ralph Waldo Emerson, faithfully setting down 
Emerson's story of experiences while visiting England, and his 
estimates of such men as Carlyle. Macaulay, Disraeli, and many 
others. 

Enlisting in the Union Army at the beginning of the war. the 
young Cincinnati attorney rose ra]ndly by gallantry and merit 
to a brevet Major Generalship. I have read somewhere that 
although twelve of the Presidents of the United States had served 
in its armed forces. Monroe and Hayes were the only two to be 
wounded in battle. 

The development of political events, following the war, which 
brought General Hayes to the Governorship of Ohio and thence 
to the Presidency, is far better known than his earlier career. 
Better understood, also. I venture, than the great afifairs which 
made up his career as chief magistrate. Excepting only Lincoln, 
I think it may be said that no President came to the duties of 
his high office under more dif^cult conditions than those which 
confronted Mr. Hayes. The bitter light for the Republican 
nomination, the still more bitter contest which was necessary 
before the result of the election was determined, and the fact 
that at no time during his presidential service were both houses 
of Congress controlled by his political party, made his position 
as President unif|uely difficult. Regarded by Democrats as the 
beneficiary of corruption, and by many Republican leaders as an 
interloper in orthodox political company, he clearly realized his 
difficult position from the beginning and went straight ahead 
with a simple aim of doing what he believed right and best, 
trusting to the sound sense of the public to support him, even if 
the politicians were not disposed so to do. I think the fine, 
tranquil courage which he displayed in the steady pursuit of this 
policy marks him as an executive most fortunately equipped for 
the needs of his time. 



Birth of Rutherford Birchard Hayes 55 

Looking back, from our present point of observation, there 
is little disagreement as to his wisdom in withdrawing federal 
troops from those southern states where they were still employed 
to maintain nominal governments which did not represent the 
communities. Like most thinking men who had taken actual 
part in the great conflict. President Hayes had little hatred for 
the men who had been such gallant antagonists. His hope and 
wish was all for the restoration of national unity on the basis 
of confidence and understanding. He believed that the attempt 
to enforce hard and unnatural conditions upon the vanquished, 
could not possibly advantage either section ; and one who recog- 
nizes the parallel between the problem of our national recon- 
struction then, and the problem of a world's reconstruction with 
which our generation is called to deal, cannot but feel that a 
thoughtful consideration of the Hayes policy would be of vast 
benefit in the world today. If it be assumed that wars are in- 
evitable so long as humankind continues as it is, it must also be 
accepted that periods of peace are inevitable ; and the hatreds 
and bitterness of war ought not to be carried over and perpetu- 
ated in the epochs of peace. This was the basis of the Hayes 
philosophy, and its results certainly commend it to earnest pres- 
ent-day consideration. 

There is another page from the history of the Hayes ad- 
ministration which I wish might be read and pondered in these 
times. I refer to the resumption of specie payments. The law 
looking to resumption had been passed before Mr. Hayes became 
President ; but after its passage there developed a powerful oppo- 
sition. The country was full of antagonism to a "hard money" 
program ; of conviction that the early resumption of gold pay- 
ments would have disastrous elTect. Mr. Hayes had taken his 
stand firmly in favor of the execution of this law, and opposed 
all pro])Osa'ls for its repeal or modification. We get a vision of 
both his courage and statesmanship, when we recall his attitude 
toward the Bland Silver-Purchase Act. In the face of his oppo- 
sition as voiced in a message to Congress, the bill passed by such 
large majorities in both houses that it was quite apparent a veto 
would be overridden. Nevertheless he did veto it. despite that 
it had been supported by a majority of the members of both 
parties. There were strong reasons in favor of the President 
swallowing his scruples and signing the measure. Even so un- 
comprising a supi)orter of sound money and the public credit 
as Secretary Sherman opposed the veto. It is only fair to refer 
to Mr. Sherman's attitude, because there has been disposition to 
give him an undue share of credit for the sound fiscal and money 
policies of the Hayes administration. In his "Recollection" 
Senator Sherman says: — "In view of the strong public senti- 
ment in favor of the free coinage of the silver dollar. I thought 



56 Centenary Celebration 

it better to make no objections to tbe passage of the bill, but I 
did not care to antagonize the wishes of the President. He 
honestly believed that it would greatly disturb the public credit 
to make a legal tender for all amounts of a dollar, the bullion 
in which was not in equal value to the gold dollar." The truth 
is that President Hayes, in his determination to veto the measure, 
was a lonesome figure ; then and for a long time afterward. 
Yet today I think we would find an overwhelming opinion that 
the President was right, that the legislation was unfortunate, 
and that a large part of the financial ills of the succeeding gen- 
eration w^ould have been avoided if the veto had been sustained. 
Once more, I am impressed that a thorough understanding and 
fair appraisal of the Hayes fiscal and money policy would be of 
value to students of the economic problems of this hour. In- 
flation has been carried in many countries to extremes seldom 
reached in any of the recurring periods of financial excess that 
have marked modern history. I feel that the unalterable com- 
mitment of President Hayes to moderation in expenditure and 
rigid maintenance of the monetary basis marked the beginning 
of the long struggle for financial faith and sound money, which 
has brought the American nation to the proud position it now 
holds. Contemplating the Amercan dollar as the recognized 
standard of a world, we will indulge no error if we give to 
Rutherford B. Hayes the first share of credit for putting us 
on the path that has led us to this high estate. 

His veto, in the closing days of his administration, of the 
Refunding Bill, on the ground that it contained provisions which 
would surelv bring disaster to the national banking system, was 
a most important contribution to maintain the system which has 
since been developed into a banking establishment that is one of 
the potent guarantees of economic stability and financial security. 

I hope that if in thus recalling some few of President Hayes' 
many notable contributions to wise administration, I have in- 
truded upon your patience, I may excuse myself on the ground 
that on this centenary occasion I have sincerely wanted to pay 
tribute to one who has not had the fullest measure of recognition. 
I know, in view of what I have said, that you will give me credit 
for utmost sincerity when I repeat my keen regret that it has 
not been possible for me to be with you in person and join in 
the testimony to the memory of a great, courageous and particu- 
larly unselfish American. 

Most sincerely yours, 

(Signed) Warren G. Harding. 

Hon. James E. Campbell, President, 

The Ohio State Archaeologieai and Historical Society, 
Columbus, Ohio. 



Birth of Rutherford Birchard Hayes 57 

Dr. Charles Richard Williams, of Princeton, New 
Jersey, the author of the two volume Life of Ruther- 
ford B. Hayes and editor of the "sixty years of Diary 
and l^cftcrs." to which he has devoted his time since 
completing the Life, so that the combined publication 
of a Hayes Series of six volumes could be issued under 
the name of the Ohio State Archaeological and His- 
torical Society, then delivered the following scholarly 
and eloquent address: 

hi the little village of Delaware, one hundred vears ago, in a 
modest home, of parents undistinguished by wealth or fame but 
of clean and wholesome quality, Rutherford Birchard Hayes 
was born. There was nothing at the time — unless in the secret 
recesses of the widowed mother's heart, jubilant that a man-child 
was born - — to give one the faintest adumbration of the greatness 
of character and achievement Fate had in store for him. 

A hundred years ago! Can you think back to the conditions 
of that day? James Monroe was President — the fifth in the 
line. The battle of Yorktown was nearer by almost twenty years 
than Appomattox is to us. Men that fought with Washington, 
and helped to frame the Constitution and establish the Republic, 
were living and active in affairs. The Government was still an 
experiment — the world expecting its speedy collapse, even its 
most ardent friends doubtful of its enduring success. The steam- 
boat was a novelty ; agriculture pursued primitive methods ; 
chemistry and the cognate sciences were feeling their slow way 
in the early stages of development ; medicine and the knowledge 
of disese had made slight progress beyond the attainment of 
Galen. The railway, the telegraph, the telephone, all the uses of 
electricity, and a hundred other things, which are now common- 
places, that add so much to our daily comfort and pleasure, that 
broaden our intellectual horizon to embrace the world, were yet 
to come. Surely no century in the history of the human race 
since our first parents, 

"hand in hand, with wanderin'j^ steps and slow, 
Through Eden took their solitary way," 

has seen so great advancement in all the arts and sciences by 
which life is enriched and made easier and more interesting, or 
has won such access of power in discovering and utilizing the 
hidden forces of nature. Hard, indeed, to think back to the 




Charles Richard Williams 



(58) 



BirtJi of Rutherford B ire hard Hayes 59 

narrower mode of life of pioneer days in Ohio, in the first ([uarter 
of the nineteenth centur)', into which Hayes was born. 

But, however great the changes in the externals of existence, 
men remain the same in spiritual and moral life — subject to the 
same emotions, swayed by the same motives, fired by like ambi- 
tions. So, we can understand the men of the past, can enter into 
their lives and thoughts, can sympathize with their defeats 01 
joy in their triumphs as easily and fully as if they abode among 
us now. 

And it is good for us to dwell on the Ife of such a man as 
Rutherford B. Hayes. It was so clean a life, so wdiolesome, so 
noble; it was so normal, in every stage of his growth, and in 
every phase of his pri\ate activity and ot his public career. "The 
chief aim of life." in his opinion, "is to become better, to get 
character." Whatever he did or said in professional endeavor, 
on the field of battle, or at the helm of State, you feel the man — 
the character — behind it all. Many eulogists, at the time of his 
death, applied to him the significant words written bv Tennyson 
of the great Duke : 

"Rich in saving common-sense, 
And. as the greatest only are, 
In his simplicity, sublime." 

No characterization of Hayes could be more appropriate ; 
none could better define his donfinant qualities. Curiously 
enough, before he was nineteen, Hayes himself became conscious, 
as he records in his diary, that he was "possessed of a good share 
of common sense, by which [he adds] is meant a sound practical 
judgment of what is correct in the common afifairs of life." And 
he impressed his companions with this quality. A fellow student 
at Kenyon, Stanley Matthews, wrote : "Hayes was notorious 
for having on his shoulders, not only the levelest, but the oldest 
head in college." Search his life through. You shall find that 
common sense, sound practical judgment, prevailed with him and 
determined his conduct in every critical period of his career. He 
was never carried off his feet by any popular craze, however 
insinuating and plausible its ajjpeal. He could not be led away 
by Know-nothingism, which seduced so large a portion of the 
Whig party ; he saw the futility of attempts at compromise and 
bargaining with the slave barons after the banner of secession 
had been unfurled ; he never made a fetish of high protectionism; 
he was quick to perceive the fatuousness of the Liberal Republi- 
can movement in 1872, with its fantastic nomination of Horace 
Greeley. He could see the virtues as well as the faults of Gen- 
eral Grant's administration and appraise them justlv. He re- 
fused to shut his eyes to the excesses of Republican misrule in 



6o Centenary Celebration 

the South, and had the strength and courage to defy party tradi- 
tion by reversing the poHcy long pursued and passionately de- 
fended. He stood like a rock against every eiTort — though at 
times by party friends — to relax the financial obligation of the 
Government, or to debase our money standard by greenback 
inflation or cheapened silver. He recognized the evil and peril 
of the spoils system, and made the first serious and sincere execu- 
tive efifort to create the merit system. He never believed, nor 
professed to believe, that all political virtue was lodged in the 
party of his choice. Personal feeling and partisan bias could 
not blind his judgment to the force of opposing public opinion. 
He was fair to Arthur ; he was prompt to acknowledge the high 
patriotism and imperious sense of right displayed by Cleveland. 
No President, at least up to his time, was ever subjected to 
such malignity of misrepresentation and unmerited censure. Per- 
sistent obloquy and detraction, of a variety and ingenuity which 
could be inspired and invented only by insane hatred, pursued 
him into the retirement of private life — filled to the full with 
unselfish philanthropic activities. To lies, however base, to 
calumnies, however malevolent, he made no answer. He dis- 
regarded them with silent and amused contempt. He felt con- 
fident that in the calm judgment of history — when "the loud 
vociferations" of the time had been stilled — he would come into 
his own. Already, in his later years — to his great joy and satis- 
faction — due recognition began to be accorded to him by the 
better public opinion of the day. And steadily — as the passions 
of his time have become a memory — this recognition of his 
character and of the very great and important services he ren- 
dered to the nation, under most difificult conditions, and in a most 
critical period, wisely, far-sightedly, patriotically, has become 
clearer, stronger, and more general. Indeed, he is among the 
few Chief Magistrates whose fame has constantly increased and 
grown more assured with every passing year. The worth of his 
achievements gains in appreciation and significance with every 
fresh survey of his pure and purposeful administration. His 
ai)peal to the judgment of history has been heard. And history, 
proudly and with benignant approbation, places on his brow ? 
wreath of deathless laurel. 

RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD H.WES 

(Born October 4, 1822^ Died January 17. 1893.) 

Who best serves country serves his party Dest ■ — 
So Hayes proclaimed, and so he lived his days : 
Serene and unbewildered. through the maze 

Of wrangling factions, onward straight he prest 



Birth of Rutherford Birchard Hayes 6i 

In steadfast effort, with unflagging zest. 

For Right and Truth, for nobler, gentler ways: 
Calm when approved, unruffled by dispraise, 

Obedient aye to duty's high behest ! 

Maligned, misjudged, misprized — he made no plea; 

The rage of partisans he knew would pass ; 

What he had wrought would stand imperishable ; 
Time would correct perspective! — True! Men see 

With vision cleared now all he did and was; 

And fame enwreathes his Ijrow with immortelle! 

Following- a number by tbe 11th Infantry l>and. 
President Cani])])ell then read the following letter irom 
ex-President A\'illiain H. Taft. Chief Justice (^f the 
United States: 

Supreme Court of the United States 
w^ashington, d. c. 

Hon. James E. Campbell, President, 

Ohio State Archceological and Historieal Society. 
Columbus, Ohio. 

1 knew President Hayes. He was a great friend of my 
wife's father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. John W. Herron. Mr. 
Hayes came into the Presidency under a very great burden, 
because of the contest over the legality of his election. He 
conducted his administration with the aid of one of the ablest 
Cabinets that was ever gathered together in the history of the 
countrv. He devoted his entire attention to the efficient admin- 
istration of the Government, and strengthened the Civil Service, 
and in spite of the fact that his inauguration had aroused the 
indignation of many Democrats who thought he had been im- 
properlv installed iii the Presidency, he administered his office 
\vith such satisfaction to the people that the Republican party 
was able to elect his successor. President Garfield. His adnim- 
istration was not theatrical, and did not involve events jhat 
forced themselves into the history of the country_ as critical, 
unless it be the resumption of specie payments, which came so 
quietly, in spite of the prophecies of disaster, that it did not dis- 
turb the financial situation, but laid the basis for the enormous 
consequent prosperitv of the next decade. His administration. 



62 Centenary Celebration 

too. marks the turning over to the southern white ]:)eople the 
control of politics in the southern states, and the end of the 
racial war in those States, so far as it was political. When 
President Hayes retired he was not a candidate in the next 
convention, and he retired into a dignified leisure, pursuing his 
tastes for study. His administration is a notable one in the 
history of the country, and he is entitled to the credit of the sub- 
stantial progress that was accomplished in it. 

Sincerely yours. 

(Signed) \\'m. H. Taft. 

Major General Joseph T. Dicknian. U. S. Army, 
Retired, a native born Btickeye and by many considered 
the best and most successful American General in the 
World War for which he trained, and later commanded 
the Third Division of Regulars at Chateau Thierry, 
the 4th Corps at St. Mihiel, the 1st Corps in the Ar- 
gonne, and then appointed to the command of the 3rd 
American Army, he marched it to the Rhine, where at 
Coblenz he commanded the American Army of Occupa- 
tion in Germany ; as the representative of the President 
of the United States, delivered the following- address: 

Mr. Chairman . fello'-cC-Citi::ens. Ladies and Gentlemen: 

We are assembled on this solemn occasion to perform a duty, 
which is at the same time a labor of love, namely, to honor the 
memory of one of the most illustrious sons of our great state. 
The setting as to time and place for this historic event could 
not be more appropriate. This day is the hundredth anniversary 
of the birth of the great citizen whose life is so inspiring to us, 
and this scene is located in the most interesting region, his- 
torically, in the United States in connection with the \\'ar of 
1812. W'e need to mention only Perry's victory on Lake Erie, 
the siege of Fort Meigs at Perrysburg, and the defense of Fort 
Stephenson here in Fremont to call to mind the campaigns and 
battles of over a century ago. The resistance made by Major 
George Croghan and his band of one hundred and sixty heroes 
against General Proctor's force of eight hundred British regulars, 
reinforced by two thousand Indians under Tecumseh. was unique 



Birth of Riitlicrford Hircliard Hayes 63 

in that it was almost the only success on land achieved by the 
United States in the War of 1812. in which we raised four 
hundred and fifty thousand troops. The effect of Croghan's 
victory was of the highest importance for it raised the spirit 
of the American troops and gave them confidence in ultimate 
victory. 

General W illinni Tecumseh Sherman wrote to President Hayes on 
July 1"). IHS."). "The defence of Fort Stephenson, by Croghan and his 
gallant little hand, was the necessary precursor to Perry's victory on 
the Lake, and of General Harrison's triumphant victory at the battle 
of the Thames. These assured to our immediate ancestors the mastery 
of the Great West, and from that day to this the west has been the 
bulwark of this nation." 

When Rutherford B. Hayes first saw the light, but a score 
of years had passed since Ohio joined the family of common- 
wealths forming the American nation. The populous cities of this 
state were then mere villages, and the primeval forests covered 
the greater part of the land. The Federal Law for the public land 
survey had not been enacted, and the memory of battles with the 
savage tribes, by troops under Anthony Wayne and St. Clair, 
was still fresh in the minds of the settlers. 

When the Civil War broke out, Mr. Hayes was nearly forty 
years of age, a time of life when most men have settled down 
and have established their families. Nevertheless, he immediately 
offered his services in the great conflict then going on for the 
preservation of the Union. With an established law practice 
and family ties, this action of Mr. Hayes sheds a strong light 
on the sturdiness of his character and the quality of his patriot- 
ism. Mr. Hayes was the ideal American volunteer, one of the 
class of men of strong character and ardent patriotism who, 
coming out of what then was considered the great West, cast a 
decisive weight into the scales of national conflict. 

Mr. Hayes' militarv service was of the highest order. He 
was one of Sheridan's trusted commanders. Although at the 
time only a colonel, he commanded a brigade and division in the 
Shenandoah Campaign, and General Sheridan refused to accept 
any and all general officers sent from Washington to replace him. 
Grant wrote of him: "His conduct on the field of battle was 
marked by conspicuous gallantry, as well as by the display of 
qualities showing a higher order than that of mere personal 
bravery." This might well have been expected of one who 
could write at the time he did: "Any offfcer fit for duty. who. 
at this crisis would abandon his post for a seat in Congress, 
ought to be scalped." 

Having entered the Army as Major of X'olunteers at the 



64 



Centenary Celebration 



beginning of the war. Hayes attained bv meritorious service 
the grade of Brigadier General and Brevet Major General of 
Volunteers. 

It is interesting to note that Hayes enlisted in the first 
Ohio Regiment organized "for three years or the war"; that 
he refused a colonelcy at the beginning and accepted a majority 




Major General Joseph T. Dickman 



because he believed he was not fitted at that time for higher 
command ; that he refused all political appointments at a 
time when that evil was at its worst ; that most of his service 
was as Colonel, his elevation to the grade of Brigadier General 
and Major General by Brevet, being tardily awarded near the 
close of the war ; that he was wounded six times while leading 
his men in battle ; and that he lay wounded between two lines 
faint from the loss of blood. \\'ounds received in battle are 



Birth of Rutherford Birchard Hayes 65 

evidence which no man can gainsay of presence in action and 
bravery in the presence of the enemy. 

A simple resume of the important battles in which General 
Hayes bore a worthy part is more signihcant, impressive, and 
eloquent, than laudatory phrases : 

He commanded the regiment which '.ed the attack and suc- 
cessfully opened the Battle of South Mountain, in the Antietam 
cam])aign, where he was severely wounded. 

He commanded the Brigade which led the assatdt which 
carried the works of the enemy in the herce battle of Floyd 
Mountain, where General Jenkins was defeated and killed. 

He was in command of one of the two brigades which cov- 
ered the retreat that saved Crook's Army after his defeat at 
Winchester. 

He commanded one of the two brigades selected by Sheridan 
to lead in repeated attacks on Earlv's Lines in the Shenand(jah 
Valley. 

His was one of the two brigades which fought at Berrvx'ille. 
and by great gallantry saved the day. 

He was in command of the brigade which led the flank 
attack which turned Early's left and defeated him in Sheridan's 
great \ictory at ( )pequon ; and it was while marching to secure 
position to strike the enemv that Hayes performed one of the 
most daring feats of the war. charging through an almost im- 
passable morass upon a battery. 

He commanded the division of Crook's Army which led the 
way in scaling North Mountain and striking on the left flank 
made certain the victories of Fisher's Hill. 

}le commanded one of the fli\isions which retained its or- 
ganization and gained great distinction in the Battle of Cedar 
Creek. 

This is a military record of which the descendants of Gen- 
eral Hayes, natives of the State of Ohio, and indeed anv true 
American may well be proud. It was achieved in grades which 
placed him in intimate contact with his men, whom he inspired 
by his sterling qualities as a citizen and a soldier and by his 
personal bravery, and at the same time exposed him to all the 
dangers of the htuublest soldier in the ranks. The annals of the 
Ci\il \\'ar record no case of an officer exhibiting greater devotion 
to dutv and more steadfast courage in the face of the enemy. 
And if we scan the records of the Spanish-American war, the 
Philippine Insurrection, the Relief Expedition in China, and the 
greatest of all wars, which involved practically all the civilized 
nations of the world a few years ago, and the echoes which have 
not entirely subsided to this day, we find no nobler example of 



66 Centenary Celebration 

the true patriot and brave soldier than that typitied by General 
Hayes. 

In the huge armies of today, with the range of modern 
weapons and the distance at which a large part of the battle is 
fought, there is not the same opportunity in grades above com- 
pany commander for personal leadership that existed in the cam- 
paigns of the smaller forces of sixty years ago. In the World 
War many of our officers and soldiers never saw the enemy 
during the battle in which they were engaged, while inflicting and 
suti'ering tremendous losses in the use of the long range fire of 
artillery and small arms. The qualities displayed by General 
Hayes are. however, still of the greatest importance in battle, 
for courage under fire covers a greater multitude of shortcomings 
in times of war than charity does in time of peace. 

As long as America has such leaders, she will be victorious 
in any international conflict which may be forced upon her, 
provided sufficient forethought is exercised by the legislative 
branch of the government to place our men on an approximately 
equal footing with the enemy in numbers, training, and equip- 
ment. 

It is perhaps not out of place to call attention to the teach- 
ings of History and to issue a note of warning against being 
swayed by sentiment rather than by cool reason ; and against 
making our wishes the fathers of our beliefs in international mat- 
ters, thus running the risk of being placed in the predicament 
of those zealots, who, one week passed resolutions for the elim- 
ination of our land and naval forces, and next week call on the 
President to stop the massacres of Christians in the Near East. 
What means do they expect the President to employ to restrain 
the victorious forces of a people far removed from our standards 
of justice and liberty? 

At the critical period of our history when the country was 
recovering from the wounds of the protracted Civil War, his 
calm, just, and dignified conduct of affairs completed the w^ork of 
reconstruction and started the Nation in the great strides to- 
wards progress and prosperity which have eventually made it the 
foremost among the nations of the earth. 

The leaders of the great conspiracy who for four years at- 
tempted to disrupt our Nation could not defend their action 
by frank confession that they were fighting to perpetuate the in- 
stitution of human slavery which had been abolished by all the 
civilized nations of the earth, but instead appealed to the doctrines 
of "the rights of the states." The hollowness of this pretext is 
clearly shown by the fact that in the present generation, wdiile 
many of the participants of the great struggle are still living. 



Birth of Rutherford Birchard Hayes 67 

their descendants have repeatedly and eagerly surrendered a large 
part of the powers which they formerly contended were reserved 
to the states, and have been foremost in the advocacy of amend- 
ments to the Constitution to accomplish such purpose. 

General Hayes was one of the soldiers whom the American 
people have entrusted with the highest office in their gift — a 
position which now is the most influential in the government of 
all the nations of the earth. It is a matter of pardonable pride 
and profound satisfaction to realize that all of them have been 
patriots and statesmen rather than mere politicians and that they 
have steadfastly performed their duties regardless of the effect 
upon their personal fortunes. None of them was more deserving 
of the word "Patriot" than General Hayes. At the outbreak of 
the Civil W^ar he wrote, "I would prefer to go into it, even if I 
knew I was to be killed in the course of the war. than to live 
through and after it without taking part in it." 

Owing his election to the eltorts of his political party, he 
said in his inaugural address: "He serves his party best, who 
serves his country best." Because he believed that a president 
could serve his country best by serving only one term, without 
thought of re-election, he not only announced that he would 
serve only one term, but firmly refused to even consider a second 
four years in the White House. A man who placed duty to 
country on such a high plane, and above all party and personal 
considerations, certainly was a patriot. \\'e can all be proud of 
the fact that he first was a soldier, and it is not too much to ex- 
press the conviction that his militarv service and experience in 
times of great stress helped to develop in him that high conception 
of duty to country which was the grandest feature in his char- 
acter. 

The rectitude of his intentions and his firmness of purpose 
have never been doubted. The purity of his domestic relations 
and the dignified poise of his character prevented the slightest 
of those suspicions which unfortunatelv have marred the record 
of some other administrations. 

General Hayes gave us an example of such pure and lofty 
patriotism that were he living today he would undoubtedly cast 
all the weight of his influence in the direction of more thorough 
Americanization of the youth of our land. That problem is not 
as difficult as it looks. The natural tendencv is toward homo- 
geneity. If the boys and girls, of whatever foreign parentage, 
are not interfered with, but are allowed to mingle freelv with 
their American contemporaries, they will readily learn the lan- 
guage and customs of the country and be thoroughlv American 
before arriving at the ase of maturity; but if they are exempted 
from attendance at public schools and a large part of their in- 



68 



Cciitoiary Celebration 



struction is conducted in a foreign language, we must expect 
to see perpetuation of alien characteristics. 

In these days when crimes of violence against persons and 
destruction of property appear to be on the increase ; when mass 
murders go unpunished ; when classes of people receive special 
exemption from compliance with provisions of law made for the 
whole people; when organized minorities intimidate our legisla- 
tive bodies and cause members to vote contrarv to their own 
convictions; when the economic life of the nation is menaced 
by organized groups of foreigners under leaders of foreign birth ; 
when certain laws are freely violated bv high officials of national, 
state and local governments ; when in fact we are threatened with 
a great relaxation of public regard for all law. the I'fe and char- 
acter of Rutherford B. Hayes should serve as an inspiration to 
those who carry on the fight against the shams, frivolities, and 
hvpocrisies of social and ]iolitical life. His career is a proud 
heritage to the peop'e of ( )hio who will cherish his memorv as 
long as her brave sons and noble daughters control the affairs 
of state. 

In introducing Senator Atlee 
Ponierene, Gn\-ernr)i- Campbell 
was most happy in his vein of 
( )])timism. 



I thought this was Hayes Cen- 
tenary day, but from the looks of the 
faces on the platform, it must be 
'Senatorial" day. \\'e have two United 
States Senators and a third who is 
willing to become a member of the 
senate if elected to the office. Senator 
Pomerene has been an honest, faithful 
ptiblic servant of character and ability 
about whom I could say other good 
things — but that would be politics. 




Senator Atlee Pomerexe 



Senator P\)merene's address, sustained the high 
reputation for forceful oratory justly enjoyed by the 
senior senator from Ohio, who had been a fre(|uent 
visitor at Spiegel Grove and knew of the literary 
treasures which it contained. 



Birth of RutJicrford Birchard Hayes 69 

In referring to the patriotic attitude of Hayes at the 
outbreak of the Civil War. he (|Uoted: 

"I would rather be killed in the war than not have taken 
a part in it," wrote Hayes to his friend and adviser, Stanley 
Alatthews, at the time of the crisis that tried men's souls. He 
was commanding- but modest and could "walk with kings, nor 
lose the common touch." 

Senator P\irnerene thought the two greatest out- 
standing acts of the Hayes administration were the 
removal c^f the troops from the south after the war of 
1861-65 and the restimption of specie payment. He 
voiced the beaittiful sentiment in McKinley's tribute 
to Hayes following his death in 1893, by reading the 
proclamation issued at that time. 

President Catnpbell then called upon the Hon. Frank 
P). AA^illis, the junior United States Senator from Ohio, 
who spoke as follows : 

Mr. Chairman and fellow citizens : 

I cheerfully concur in all that has l)een said by the dis- 
tinguished speakers who have preceded me in tribute to Ruther- 
ford Birchard Hayes whose character and achievements we cele- 
brate in the centennial observance of this day. 

I cannot claim, as can the veterans of the Civil War who 
honor this occasion, your distinguished chairman and others 
present today, to have personally known President Hayes. I do 
recall, however, that when a mere boy I went from my home in 
Delaware County to attend a great public meeting in Columbus. 
The papers for some time had announced that President Hayes 
and General Sherman would be among the distinguished guests 
at that meeting. \\'hen I saw them I was somewhat disappointed. 
In my boyish fancy presidents and generals and other great men 
had been of larger stature than their fellows. I was like the 
boy of inquiring mind who is represented in the McGuffey 
readers as asking 

"How big was Alexander, pa?" 

I expected to see the President and the great General loom 
high above other meil in physical stature, and so 1 was a little 
disappointed at first to see that they were not taller than other 



70 



Centenary Celebration 



grown-up folks around them. 1 esteemed it a great honor, how- 
ever, to have had the rare privilege of seeing them. I felt some 
way or other that this opportunity had distinguished me. I 
could tell the other boys in our neighborhood that I had seen a 
president of the United States. In after years, however, as I 
read the history of our country and the lives and administra- 
tions of our presidents. I learned to appreciate the patriotic 
service and the moral grandeur of him whose name and memory 
we honor today. iTis fame increases with the passing years. 
It is a significant fact that many of his contemporaries of both 

of the great political parties who criti- 
cised certain of his executive acts and 
policies in after years reversed their 
hasty judgments and joined those who 
accredited merited fame to this 
worthy president and manly man. 

We of (Jhio take especial pride 
in the career of this man who has 
been properly accorded a prominent 
place among the jewels of our state. 
We take a just and peculiar pride in 
all our presidents, in Grant. Hayes, 
(iarfield, Benjamin Harrison, \lc- 
Kinley, Taft and Harding, all of 
whom were born in Ohio, and in Wil- 
liam Henry Harrison, grand old Tip- 
pecanoe, who was an (Jhioan by adop- 
tion and in the early history of our 
state, in the war of 1812. led his soldiers through these very 
grounds upon which we have assembled today. 

Much has been said about eminent Ohioans. \ irginia was 
long the Mother of Presidents but that distinction is passing from 
the Old Dominion to the Buckeye commonwealth. Much has 
been said in praise of our citizens who have acquired fame in 
statesmanship and war and other fields. 

The ubiquity of the Ohioan is an inviting and inspiring 
theme. He is found everywhere. Through our commonwealth 
has flowed the tide of migration which has peopled the states 
farther west. I was impressed with this fact some vears ago 
when in company with friends I made a visit to the Pacific Coast. 
On that delightful trip it was our pleasure to spend some time 
at the canyon of the Colorado. One day in company with two of 
my uncles and a few other friends we visited that remarkable 
gorge. It made us almost dizzy to look down to the depths 
below. Some of our party proposed that we follow the road 
down to the river's bank. I at first declined but two of my 




Senator Frank B. Willis 



Birth of Rutlu-yford, Birchard Hayes Ji 

uncles insisted upon making the descent. From our vantage 
ground we watched them as they went down farther and farther 
nito the great canyon, and they went down and down diminish- 
ing to our vision as they went. They went down until they 
reached the river l)ank and those two old uncles looked like two 
ants. (Laughter.) A little later I myself went down over the 
same road and I discovered there some muleteers driving their 
teams. Some of them were using the language which is said to 
be peculiarly adapted to the muleteer. Some say that it is en- 
tirely excusable in persons serving in that capacity. I believe 
General Grant in commenting upon his experience in the Mexican 
War made a remark to that effect. He said that while he did 
not indulge in this language himself he considered it excusable 
in those who drove mules. Well, those men down in the canyon 
were using that language. 1 met \ery pleasantly the chief 
muleteer and in answer to a question he stood proudly up and 
declared that he was from Lucas County. Ohio. A little later 
we made the ascent of Pike's Peak. Away up there near the 
summit, above the clouds, was an enterprising citizen who was 
publishing a newspaper. After chatting with him a few minutes 
I asked if Colorado was his native state. "No," said he, "I am 
proud to say that I was born in the Buckeye state. I came to 
Colorado some years ago from Tuscarawas County." The 
Ohioan is widelv distributed and in other states and lands and 
in stations humble and exalted is reflecting credit upon the land 
of his birth. 

It is worthv of mention in this connection that Rutherford 
Birchard Hayes was thoroughly Ohioan. He was born in (3hio, 
lived in Ohio his entire life with the exception of a very brief 
period in his school davs. All his public service was in and from 
Ohio. 

His lovalty to Ohio is illustrated by an event which occurred 
in the campaign of 1844 while he was a student in college. A 
great parade had been organized in Boston in connection with a 
Whig meeting to be addressed by some great national leaders. 
As the parade passed along the streets young Hayes observed 
there was no Ohio organization and no Ohio banner. Hastily 
improvising a banner this young collegian drafted two of his 
classmates and formed an Ohio delegation of them. This was 
augmented to hundreds before the parade reached Boston Com- 
mon and the Ohio delegation became one of the largest, noisiest 
and most notable of the day. 

General Hayes, though a loyal Ohioan, felt his obligation 
to the Nation was first — his devotion to the Republic was by 
straight line to Washington, not by a circuitous route through 
the state capital. He was a thorough-going nationalist — he 



72 Centenary Celebration 

would never have surrendered his country's independence tor 
mternationaHsm. 

When he had concluded his term of office in the highest 
position within the gift of his countrymen he returned to his 
native state and spent his remaining days in the comtortable 
home that stands before us. \\ e are told that this is preserved 
as a typical residence ot the latter halt of the nineteenth cen- 
tury, it may be typical of its ciass but the extensive impio\e- 
ments that have been made here suggest something mor^r than 
this modest designation. 1 am sure that those of you who have 
viewed the beautiful grounds and the treasures within these 
buixdmgs will support me in the statement that this is more than 
typical, that it is ideal in its appointments and historic sug- 
gestion. 

The citizens of Ohio owe a debt of gratitude to Colonel 
Webb C. Hayes and his devoted wife for their self-abnegation 
in devoting their private fortune and their lives to the perpetua- 
tion of this histoiic shrine and its permanent dedication to the 
public good. History affords no finer example of filial devotion 
and future generations will continue to learn lessons of history 
and patriotism from contemplation of this benefaction by a de- 
voted son in fond memory of an illustrious father. 

I cordially agree with all that has been said this afternoon 
in the way of tribute to President Hayes. I was especially im- 
pressed with the scholarly address by Dr. Williams, by the 
tributes to Hayes as a soldier from Generals Dickman and 
Edwards, by the appreciation of Hayes as a statesman expressed 
in the eloquent address of my colleague, Senator Pomerene, by 
the remarks of our distinguished chairman. Governor Campbell, 
and the very appropriate letter that he has read from the Presi- 
dent of the United States, Warren G. Harding. I heartily in- 
dorse all that has been said in praise of his service in the Civil 
War, in the office of Ciovernor of Ohio, of his southern policy 
as President of the United States, of his contribution to the 
resumption of specie payments and the preservation of the finan- 
cial honor of the Republic. It would be difficult to add anything 
to the words of generous appreciation to which we have listened. 

In private station, in public life or on the battlefield, Ruther- 
ford B. Hayes was a man of dauntless courage. He was bold 
enough to do the thing that he believed to be right even though 
such action was not immediately popular. He had the type of 
courage so needful in this very hour. Most people know well 
enough what they ought to do, but many have not the courage 
to act. Republics can live only when their citizens have the 
vision to see the right and the courage to defend it. In a critical 
hour when suspicion was rife and accusations bitter President 



Birth of Rutherford Hirchard Ilaycs 73 

Hayes liad the courage to sa}-. '"He serves his party best who 
serves his country best." His pubHc service was an exemp.ifica- 
tion of this principle. In private Hfe and in pubHc station Gen- 
eral Hayes always stood unflinchingly for obedience to the law 
and maintenance of the constitution. He fully understood that 
if one man may select one law and break it because of personal 
taste, then every other man has the same right and there is an 
end to all laws. There is no middle ground — either this Re- 
public will stand on the rock of constitutional government and 
observe the law or it will sink in the hopeless morass of lawless- 
ness. 

I may be permitted to add, I am sure, that in the residence 
yonder was a home that may well be considered ideal in its 
character, a model American home. 

By inheritance and early environment Hayes was peculiarly 
fortunate. He was of worthy pioneer ancestry. The record of 
his life that he has left us in written form extends back to his 
earlv school days. From the beginning he seems to have been 
modest'.y conscious of his powers and wisely interested in their 
conservation and direction to worthy and beneficent ends. He 
was throughout life completely master of himself. He was at 
no time the slave of passion or prejudice. He was at all times 
devoted to the service of country and a high conception of duty 
in all the relations of life. 

It is the universal testimony of those who knew him well at 
different periods of his career that he was under all circumstances 
a gentleman, considerate not only of the rights but the opinions 
and attitudes of those around him. Uncompromising in his 
views on es.sentials, he vet accorded to others the privileges of 
independent opinion that he claimed for himself, and thus it 
was that wdierever he moved, wdiether in college or law office, 
on the tented field, in legislative halls or in high executive posi- 
tion, he numbered among his friends men of varied political and 
religious faith. He was always considerate of his fellows. Carp- 
ing criticism, personal denunciation, partisan jealousy and burn- 
ing resentments were foreign to his nature. Continued success 
and the elevation to the highest position within the gift of the 
Republic did not separate him in sympathy from those whom 
he had known in the humbler w^alks of life. To his comrades in 
wartime who served in the ranks he was always a fellow com- 
rade. When his presidential term was at an end, he came 
here and simply resumed his service as a private citizen. Here 
again he entered with genuine interest and enjoyment into neigh- 
borlv association with the citizens of Fremont and his native 
state. He was caP.ed upon to serve on various committees, some 
of them purely local and humble in character and others of 



74 Centenary Celebration 

nation-wide and world-wide scope. In all of these the question, 
and the only question that he considered in accepting the tendered 
trust, was whether or not he could be helpful in the position. 
Having once accepted the proffered opportunity for service he 
faithfully assumed the duties of the ])osition and was scrupu- 
lously punctual in their discharge. Many who are now living can 
bear testimony to his fidelity to trusts, humble and exalted. Thus 
it is that as his life is studied in detail from his boyhood days 
down to its close in this beautiful Spiegel Grove, the apprecia- 
tion of the man, the soldier, the public servant and the citizen 
is heightened with the passing years. W'hat a legacy he has left 
to his family, his state and the nation. What an inspiring ex- 
ample to those who study his life and character. 

No sketch of his career would be complete without rec- 
ognition of the influence of his partner through the vears of his 
illustrious service. If Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the model 
husband and father it should be remembered here that he was 
fortunate in his life partner, Lucy Webb Hayes, who was recog- 
nized while she lived, as she is today, as the model wife and 
mother. A woman of culture and refinement, responsive to all 
the nobler impulses of her sex, she so bore herself at the side of 
her illustrious husband as to win a secure place in the hearts of the 
whole American people. She is affectionately remembered for 
her generous services in the hospitals of the Civil \\'ar and for 
the example that she set in the White House as first lady 
of the land. Here the two very happily spent the remaining 
years of their life in this home surrounded by this grove, a rem- 
nant of the forest primeval with all of its historic associations 
dating back to pioneer days. Here they saw life's sun set, in a 
horizon that was cloudless. Here their remains lie in yonder 
tomb. Their work and their example have not altogether fol- 
lowed them. They still endure to bless the American people and 
the Nation that they loved so well. 

The next speaker was Major General Clarence R. 
Edwards of Cleveland, who org-anized, armed and 
ec|ui])ped the 26th or New England Division so expe- 
ditiously and thoroughly that it was sent overseas as 
the First National Guard Division without being placed 
in a southern training camp. General Edwards made a 
patriotic plea for the maintenance of the armv, with 
s'"de remarks at h\s long-time friend and present host. 



Birth of Rutherford Birchard Hayes 



75 



Colonel Hayes, with whom he served overseas in Cuba, 
Porto Rico, Philippines, China and the World War, 
"who might soon be en route for Turkey." 

"Don't ask me what I said," General Rdwards wrote 





I^^^^^^^H -^^.. - '^^^HB 


BBE^i 


^^^^^^^^n ^jwM^ . 'Xr^l^^H 


^^^-—""^Jlri 




WBmtmgm^^^ 


^^^^■^^^^^H^^f ^W^^^ * » z!^ 


y^K^^^k 


^^^^^^m ^ i^m^ 


WM 


^p y ' ^^1 


H 


^K^ ^^^^1 


H 


^F "^^^i^^ ^^^H^l 


1 



Major Gkxeral Clarence R. Edwards 



a few^ days later from the First Army Corps headc[uar- 
ters in Boston, to Colonel Hayes: 

"I haven't the least idea, or enough of an idea to 
dictate it. I knew that it would be carrying coals to 
Newcastle to attempt to recount your father's great 



76 Centenary Celebration 

deeds, so well known and so well uttered that day, so 
just upon the inspiration of the moment in that beautiful 
grove I tried to show what an inspiration his life was 
to the youth of today, and how his principles need put- 
ting into force to avoid another great sacrifice to the 
country." 

Congressman Simeon D. Fess, of Ohio, in repsonse 
to some lilting remark of the chairman that he would 
have to make his best speech to win his vote from 
Senator Pomerene in the ensuing senatorial election, 
then delivered so telling and scholarh- an address that 
he claimed I 'resident Campljell's \()te. He spoke in 
])art as follows : 

Mr. Chairman and fellow citizens : 

History must decree to President Hayes a very high place as 
a public servant. His nomination and election were justified in 
his marked fitness and in achievements before and after his elec- 
tion. 

In birth all that a notable ancestry both paternal and ma- 
ternal can supply was his. 

In childhoofi training nothing was wanting to fit him for 
the highest career. 

In education both at home, college and university he was 
the most favored. 

In choice of associations he was equally highly favored. 

1. Teachers — the greatest. 

2. Friends and associates — the best. 

3. Books — such as serve to develop great soul power. 
The result of this training is what would be expected where 

a youth of all the advantages of birth, family connection, simple 
and frus'al habits, yet abundant financial resource, high ideals 
and familv pride in the possibilitv of achievement, is started on 
a career marked out by an aspiring and wealthy relative am- 
bitious for familv renown. 




Munuinent designed and erected by Rutherford B. Hayes, after the 
death of Lucy Webb Hayes in lSS;i. of Vermont Granite from the farm 
from which his parents migrated from West Dummerston, Vermont, to 
Delaware. Ohio, in IS 17. The caskets were placed in a granite block 
r2x2(> feet, which was then sealed and the monument brought from 
Oakwood Cemetery and placed on this new granite base on The Knoll 
in the Spiegel Grove State Park in April. 191"). 



(77) 






78 Centenary Celebration 

His were the college days before 
the arrival of the intellectual prig. He 
thrived upon the intellectual democ- 
racy of his law professor, Judge 
Story, and the vigorous nationalism of 
his chief study, the decisions of Chief 
justice Marshall. He reveled in the 
fundamentals of American political 
ideals and never apologized for the 
Federal Constitution or the American 
institutions developed under the or- 
ganic law. 

The aspirations for this nation 
begun in the Hayes home were carried 
out in his college days at Kenyon and 
later in his university days in the law 
Congressman Simeon D. school of Harvard. Colleges in that 
Fess day did not deem aspirations for high 

ideals, both personal and professional, 
as inconsistent with a virile manhood. They maintained an at- 
mosphere in which a student was stimulated to high resolutions. 
Young Hayes in his famous diary is witness to this university 
product. It found unmistakable expression in a New Year's 
resolution. January i, 1S45: "I will strive to become in manners, 
morals and feelings a true gentleman." 

His conception of success was well expressed in an early 
entry of his diary : 

"I never desired other than honorable distinction. The 
reputation which I desire is not that momentary eminence which 
is gained without merit and lost without regret. * * * X^et 
me triumph as a man or not at all." 

When the Civil War came it found him in the early days 
of a struggling lawyer, who had recently been married to Miss 
Lucy \\'ebb. The Hayes brand of patriot is best expressed in 
his own words then uttered : 

"I would prefer to go into the war if I knew I was to die 
or be killed in the course of it, than to li\-e through and after 
it without taking any part in it." 

This statement was corroborated by a career from Gauley 
River to Fisher's Hill, which saw the Major in a series of pro- 
motions to Major General, after a service of four years in which 
there were shot from under him four horses, and in which he 
was wounded six times, and during which time he received the 
highest commendation of his superior generals, including General 
Grant. 



Birth of Rutherford Birchard Hayes 79 

At South Mountain lie ct^ntinued to command his troops 
after his left arm was shattered. Uf the thirteen other Presidents 
of the United States who had served as officers only Monroe 
was ever wounded in action. It was later said of him that he 
was a man "who during the dark and stormy days of the Re- 
bellion, when those who are invincible in peace and invisible in 
battle were uttering brave words to cheer their neighbors on, 
himself, in the forefront of battle, followed his leaders and his 
flag until the authority of government was established from the 
Lakes to the Gulf, and from the River round to the Sea." 

His gallant leadership was no less popular at home than 
on the field. Having been nominated for Congress while in the 
thickest of the fight, his friend Smith urged him to come home 
to electioneer. His reply is the Hayes brand of patriotic duty : 

"An officer fit for duty who at this crisis would abandon 
his post to electioneer for a seat in Congress ought to be scalped. 
You may feel perfectly sure I shall do no such thing." 

Of course he was triumphantly elected. 

The War had broug'ht to the Nation problems of great 
seriousness, whose solution demanded the best brain, the highest 
type of courage and the most powerful prestige within the 
countr}-. The Thirty-ninth Congress stands out in historv for 
its ability in great statesmen. The most outstanding delegation 
in that body was from Ohio. To the powerful group number- 
ing Garfield. Ashley, Bingham, Delano, Lawrence, Schenck, and 
Shellabarger was now to be added Hayes. He immediately took 
front rank in important war legislation. Before the end of the 
Thirty-ninth Congress he was drafted to make the contest for 
the governorship in Ohio, where the militant Democracy was 
endangering Republican success by putting forth as its standard- 
bearer the distinguished national Democratic leader, Allen G. 
Thurman. General Hayes brought to the governorship not only 
a highly trained mind well grounded in political science, but an 
experience which at once guaranteed a high degree of success. 

His various messages and state papers at once marked him 
as a statesman of sound and fundamental principles. He was 
unanimously renominated and was re-elected governor over an- 
other distinguished national leader, George H. Pendleton. His 
second term was so signally successful that his name was per- 
sistently mentioned in connection with the senatorship until he 
authorized the statement that he would not allow his name to 
be presented for the seat then occupied by Senator Sherman. He 
was nominated without his consent and over his protest for 
Congress in the Second District. He had sent dispatches to 
Smith, of the Gazette, and Davis, declining to acccjit. But in 
party interests he finally accepted what he declared must be a 



8o Cciitoiary Celebration 

losing fight. Here he sufl'ered his only defeat after running 
far ahead of his ticket. While he was defeated by 1 500. his 
Republican colleague in the First District was defeated by more 
than double that figure. In this campaign he sounded the warn- 
ing against the Democratic policy for an unsound currency. 
They had carried the elections in Ohio in 1S73 on the soft-money 
issue, and under the leadership of the famous Bill .Mien. In 
1874 thev again carried most of the State oftices and a majority 
of the delegation in Congress — thirteen out of twenty. In 
1875, with this handicap, Re]Uiblicans turned for the third time 
to General Hayes, who had to his credit the defeat of two of 
Democracy's leaders and national figures. Allen (i. Thurman 
and George H. Pendleton. Notwithstanding that he had per- 
sisted up to the very last moment against the candidacy, he was 
nominated without his consent by a vote of 396 to 151 for Judge 
Taft, who moved for unanimous nomination. In the campaign 
he defeated the pojjular governor. Bill Allen, by a decisive vote 
on the issues before the country. 

In the midst of his third term, the National Convention was 
held in Cincinnati. General Hayes' name and fame were eclipsed 
bv the more i^opular names of Blaine. Morton. Conkling. etc. 
His was not a magnetic career. It was only distinguished and 
substantial. The only contingency needed for the highest promo- 
tion was a dead-lock between the favorites in the Convention. 
In such a situation Hayes supi)lied all the qualifications of educa- 
tion and training, of ability and courage, of prestige and reputa- 
tion, of a splendid standard-bearer by having defeated three 
times as many national figures. He was the inevitable choice 
to lead the Nation as he had led his own state. 

His great success was in wliat he did, notwithstanding his 
administration was not poi)ular with Republican politicians. 
While he was distinctly a party man, he was not a spoilsman. 
His determination to inaugurate reform in the Civil Service won 
for him enemies in his own party, such as Conkhng. His policy 
toward the South won for him enemies among Republican 
leaders, such as Blaine. His attitude for sound money which 
compelled him to veto many measures won for him enemies tinc- 
tured with soft-money heresies. These cumulative disaiTections 
among leaders in his own party compelled him to abide by his 
announced decision when first elected that he would not stand 
for reelection in 1880, — in sharp contrast with recent utter- 
ances of the modern opportunist. Rutherford B. Hayes was a 
man whose promise was law so far as his conduct could make 
it ; in him no mental nor moral dishonesty could find place. 



Birtli of Rutherford Birchard Hayes 8i 

Mr. Fess referred to the difficulty of saying nuich 
that was new after the exhaustive treatment of the sul)- 
ject by former speakers on the four-hour program. 

"Fame is a bubble, money has wings, but the char- 
acter and soul power of Rutherford B. Hayes will live, 
in s])ite of the lapse of time," said Dr. Fess, whose 
tribute went also to the clean college life of the young 
man when at Kenton college. 

The ringing remarks for the American Legion, of 
Colonel John R. AlcOuigg, who commanded the 112th 
Regiment of Engineers, 37th Division, A. E. F.. in 
France, and represented here the Commander-in-Chief 
of the American Legion, were highly esteemed and 
f rec|uently a])|)lauded. They were : 

It is but proper for nie to state that, owing to an engagement 
made several weeks ago, our National Commander, Hamford 
MacNider, is unable to be present today, much to his regret. 

If he were here I am sure he would say that no words from 
him were necessary to convince this audience that the American 
Legion is in most hearty accord with the spirit of the ceremonies 
and events of this day. 

The whole atmosphere and environment could not have been 
more to our liking if the American Legion had made them to 
order. I know of no more fitting place for such an occasion. 

The whole region is rich with historic events, the mere recital 
of which thrills the blood of every real American. 

Ft. Meigs, General Harrison ; Ft. Stephenson. Major Crog- 
han. My ! what a wealth of patriotic devotion and pioneer hero- 
ism those names and places recall. 

Croghan, a mere youth, twenty-one years of age. a native of 
Kentucky, whose Irish father fought under Washington at 
Brandywine, Monmouth and ( jermantown ; Croghan the boy, 
who on August 2, 1813, within sight of the spot where we now 
are, with one hundred and sixty men defeated and routed a force 
of five hundred British and two thousand Indians in as brilliant 
an incident as adorns the historv of American arms. My! but 
Croghan and his men would make good Legionnaires if thev were 
alive todav. 



82 Coitciiary Celebration 

Even in that pioneerage, Ohio was playing a conspicuous 
part in defending the Nation and the cause of civiHzation. Yes, 
a part she was to dupHcate on a mighty scale one hundred and 
five years later in a foreign land and under foreign flags. 

It's no wonder that a state whose founders were possessed 
of such love of country, such daring and such tenacity of pur- 
pose, eventually became the mother of presidents. She couldn't 
help it. It's from such ancestors that presidents are descended. 

It is around one of those presidents that the events of this 
day cluster. Rutherford B. Hayes. A name that stands for all 
that's worth while in clean, pure. Christian American citizenship. 
Obedient child ; industrious youth ; conscientious student ; ideal 
husband and father ; a soldier whose ability and devotion to dutv 
were inspirations to all who came in contact with him ; a states- 
man, the soul of honor, whose only concern was the good of his 
country and the welfare of those whom he represented; an able 
and painstaking governor, three times chosen to that office. A 
president whose courageous stand on sound monev and resump- 
tion of specie payment laid the foundation of that prosperitv and 
development which the country enjoyed for the next quarter 
of a century. His treatment of the South and the termination of 
military control in that section was an act of patriotism that did 
much to unite the country and wipe out the distinction between 
North and South. 

In i88_L. while tourinp" ( )hio, as a candidate for President. 
James G. Blaine said of President Hayes' Administration: "It 
was one of the few and rare cases in our historv in whicli the 
President entered UDon his office with the country depressed and 
discontented and left it prosperous and happy." 

Naturally we of the Legion like to think of Rutherford B. 
Hayes as the typical citizen soldier. 

(Jn the threshold of a promising civilian career, at the out- 
break of the Rebellion he promptly volunteered and laid all he 
had on tb.e altar of his country. Compelled, like thousands of 
others, to strueele against the lack of technical militarv training. 
a lack chargeable to the government and the spirit of the times 
rather than to himself, by close application, incredible exertion 
and a spirit to win, he finally attained the rank of Major Gen- 
eral. His abilitv as a leader and commander was demonstrated 
at Winchester, Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek. 

He was a tvoical son of Ohio. His devotion to the Union 
was sublime. The intensitv of his patriotism was illustrated 
when he said just before leaving with his regiment, "I would 
rather p-o to the war. if I knew I was to lose mv life, than to 
live through and after it without taking part in it." And thou- 



Birt/i of Rutherford Birchard Hayes 83 

sands of men can testif}' to the soundness of that patriotic 
philosophy when appHed to a later war. 

On another occasion when speaking of the 313,000 men Ohio 
sent into the Union Army he said. "God loves Ohio or He would 
not have given her such a galaxy of heroes to defend the Nation 
in its hour of trial." 

The living emhodiment of such sentiments, and loving his 
state with an intensity little less than sublime, it is not to be 
wondered at that his son has arranged that the home the 
father cherished so much is to become the property of the state. 
As the tree is bent the twig's inclined. The unselfish, patriotic 
life of the father has been reflected in the lives of his children, 
and the community, state and Nation are to benefit thereby. 

From time immemorial it has been the want of nations to 
pay tribute to those who have fallen on the field of battle. Tab- 
lets, monuments, triumphal arches and palaces, erected in honor 
of their heroic dead, have dotted the capitals and high places 
of nations ancient and modern. The memory of those who perish 
amid the clash of armies is cherished through the centuries. 

To this all ])ut universal custom of paying lasting tribute 
to the battle dead America is no exception. 

But the people of Sandusky County are indebted to Colonel 
Webb C. Hayes for a new type of memorial : a new style of 
architecture direct from the draughting room of the Almighty. 

Instead of a single monument of granite or marble or bronze, 
on which the passing years must inevitably levy their tribute 
of decay and disintegration. Sandusky County is to have as a liv- 
ing monument to each fallen soldier of the World War and the 
Spanish War. a buckeye tree — a monument to which the years 
will add size and strength and beauty rather than weakness and 
decay — monuments whereon the budding leaves and blossoms of 
each recurring season will fitly typify the growth and perpetuity 
of the principles and high ideals for which these men made the 
supreme sacrifice. 

These living monuments, in symmetrical arrangement, spread- 
ing their shade over the green tiu'f and flowers of the beautiful 
parkway, constitute memorials unique in the country's history 
and worthy of imitation throughout the length and breadth of 
the land. 

And so, Mr. Chairman, the American Legion joins the people 
of the state and Nation in expressing our appreciation of and 
thanks for the generous action that has given to (3hio this splen- 
did estate with its cherished memories, precious relics, historic 
archives, and its splendid memorial parkway. 



84 Coifoiary Cclchraiion 

P^-esident Cam])liell introduced Captain W. L. Curry, 
the present Commander of the Ohio Commandery of the 
Loyal Legion, who read the foHowing letter from Lieu- 
tenant General Nelson A. Miles, U. S. A., retired, Com- 
mander-in-Chief of the Loyal Legion of which Presi- 
dent Hayes was Commander-in-Chief at the time of 
his death: 

\\'ashington, D. C. Sept. 30. 

"Your \-ery kind in\itation is at hand and in reply I would 
say that I regret exceedingly that prior engagements render it 
impossible for me to attend the celebration on October 4th next. 
Nothing would give me more pleasure than to join with others 
in paying due honors to the memory of Rutherford Birchard 
Hayes, one of the Nation's best presidents. The puritv of his 
character, the sincerity and nobihty of his ambition, the justice, 
humanity and eminent ability of his administration will long be 
an example and blessing for the people of these United States. 

"With great respect, 

"Nelson A. Miles. 
"Lieutenant General U. S. Anny." 

Captain Curr}-, in his remarks referred to the fact 
that General Hayes was the first Commander of the 
Ohio Commandery of the Loyal Legion, being suc- 
ceeded, when elected Senior \^ice Commander of the 
Commandery-in-Chief, by General William Tecumseh 
Sherman, as Commander of the Ohio Commandery. 
At the time of his death. General Hayes was the Com- 
mander-in-Chief of the order, in direct succession to 
Hancock and Sheridan, each of whom, by successive 
elections, retained the high position of Commander-in- 
Chief of the Order, until his death. 

In the unavoidable absence of Commander-in-Chief 
James E. Willett, of the Grand Army of the Republic, 
Commander Gaylord M. Saltsgaber, Department of 
Ohio, G. A. R., made the following remarks: 



BirtJi of Riithtcrford Birchard Hayes 85 

Only last week the National Encampment of the Grand Army 
of the Republic met at Des Moines, capital of the great state of 
Iowa. On Wednesday was held the grand parade where it was 
estimated there were twenty thousand in line. Their heads were 
proudly upright, their bodies erect and their movement alert and 
vigorous inspired by martial music and the plaudits of the watch- 
ing multitude. It was a grand and glorious manifestation of 
American patriotism. 

These men were the survivors of an army of over two mil- 
lion of men who marched, suffered and fought for the integrity 
and unity of our national life. The assembly and banners and 
march of these old white haired men was a tribute and a symbol 
for the citizen who heeded in days of danger his country's call 
and volunteered to suffer all of the agony of war that the Union 
might be preserved and saved for its super-eminence in grandeur 
and goodness. 

When you see these aged men with faltering step you are 
thrilled as you are reminded of the awful war from 1861 to 1865 
and you look beyond this thin and wavering line to that grand 
aggregation of citizens who responded then to the call of duty. 

No praise is too great for that noble band of heroes who 
were not soldiers by profession, who surrendered voluntarily the 
comforts of home and the companionship of family and friends 
to brave all the dreadful accidents of an awful war. These men 
were stirred by high ideals. It was no common brawl in which 
they ventured but a surrender of the highly prized comforts of 
peace to wage war against the wicked evil of secession. As a 
class the American citizen soldier stood unrivaled. He went, not 
in quest of glory, but his mind and heart were stirred by his coun- 
try's peril and he laid all upon his beloved country's altar. He 
was willing to sacrifice everything, even life itself, that the best 
government on earth should not be destroyed. 

Rutherford Birchard Hayes, at the age of thirty-nine, was 
one of that noble band of heroes. We are proud to pay his 
memory tribute today for he was one of the brightest and best 
of the citizen soldiers. At the outbreak of the war he was a 
successful lawyer and could have continued a career of civic 
honor and emolument in his chosen profession. He was favored 
above most men in the affection and esteem of his fellow citizens. 
He had a loving and loved family. There was nothing wanting 
to make his success and happiness complete, but he surrendered 
it all to serve his country. As a lawyer, he knew the same as 
Abraham Lincoln, that this nation was conceived in liberty and 
dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal, and 
that the great Civil War tested whether that nation so conceived 
and so dedicated, could long endure. 



86 Coifcnary Celebration 

Comrade Hayes was one of the first to enlist and in the 23rd 
Ohio Regiment, and afterward as general he valoroiisly ])roved 
his devotion to the cause of union and freedom in many hard 
fought battles. We followed his lead in war. \\> come now to 
the celebration of this anniversary with love and praise for his 
country and to humanity. His deeds are known to fame and 
shall shine on with undiminished lustre. His conspicuous ex- 
ample inspires us to pledge anew allegiance to our glorious flag 
and to the republic for which it stands — one nation indivisible, 
with liberty and justice for all. 

Remarks by Commander Albert D. Alcorn, Depart- 
ment of Ohio Spanish War \^eterans, were, in part, 
as follows : 

"It is a rare privilege to have a part in these exercises com- 
memorating as they do. the one hundredth anniversary of the 
birth of the Great Commoner of Ohio. Rutherford Birchard 
Hayes. 

Among my earlier recollections, was the Hayes-Tilden Cam- 
paign. It is remembered chiefly by reason of the fact that the 
boys, the rooters of those days, wore neck scarfs in which was 
interwoven the name of the presidential candidate. 

My mother, rearing a large family of boys, was. and still is, 
a great admirer of that noble. Christian woman. Lucy \\'ebb 
Hayes, and has never lost an opportunity to laud to the skies 
her courageous stand, as first lady of the land, prohibiting the 
service of wine at the \Miite House table. 

President Haves entered upon his duties as the nineteenth 
President of the United States under more trying circumstances 
perhaps than any other president we have ever had. 

Three incidents of his life stand out in bold relief. First, 
his voluntary enlistment, not for three months, not for a year, 
but "for three years or the war." 

Second, that last entry in his diary before leaving for the 
war under date of Mav 15. 1861 : "I would prefer to go into 
it if I knew I was to die or be killed in the course of it. than to 
live through and after it without taking any part in it." 

How many of us can measure up to such a high standard 
of patriotism. That these were not mere idle words, his wounds, 
his promotions, his wdiole war record, attest. 

The third incident I refer to was his replv to a friend, who 
suggested that he take leave of absence from the army in the 
field for the purpose of making a campaign for congress for 



Birth of Riitlhvford Birchard Hayes 87 

which he had been nominated. "An officer tit for duty, who at 
this crisis would abandon his post to electioneer for a seat in 
congress ought to be scalped." 

One cannot read his biography without admiring his cour- 
age in peace as wed as in war. 

It took courage to advocate and promote civil service reform. 
It took courage to advocate his southern policy. It took courage 
to oppose those who would deplete our national forests, even 
in that early day. It took courage to fight and win his battle 
for honest money. It took courage to face and overcome the 
thousand and one obstacles he had to overcome during his in- 
cumbency of the office. 

Like Cincinnatus of old. that ancient model of virtue and 
simplicity, who having been called from the plow to perform 
a great service for his country, returned to his plow when it 
was finished. Rutherford B. Hayes, who rivaled Cincinnatus in 
patriotism, virtue and simplicity, returned to this his quiet 
country home where to the day of his death his chief ambition 
was to be of service to his fellow man. 

It has been said. "A character is not built on a prospectus 
but upon a good record, not of what you agree to do. but of the 
good things you really have done." The record of the things 
he has done makes his a noble character. 

Mr. President, for myself and on behalf of the United 
Spanish War \'eterans of Ohio. I thank you for the honor of 
being present on this occasion. 



The American Leg-ion was represented by Com- 
mander Gilbert Bettman, Department of Ohio, Ameri- 
can Legion, who did not arrive in time to participate 
\N\\h the Legion in the ]:)arade incident to the Dedica- 
tion of the Memorial to the Soldiers of Sandusky 
County who died in the service of their country in the 
War with Spain, and the World War and who are 
memorialized in the cross which constitutes the Soldier's 
Memorial Parkway, of Sandusky County. 

Commander Bettman represented the American Le- 
gion in concluding the program, in an eloquent and 
sincere tribute to President Haves. 



88 Centenary Celebration 

The exercises of the afternoon concluded with a ref 
erence to the Resolutions adopted by the Sandusky 
County Bar Association, of which Rutherford B. Hayes 
became an active member on his admission to the Bar 
of Ohio, in 1845. The Resolutions which w^ere to be 
read by the Honorable Arthur W. Overmyer, were 
omitted on account of the lateness of the hour. 

The Resolutions are as follow's: 

The committee appointed to prepare resolutions of the San- 
dusky County Bar Association on the occasion of the One Hun- 
dredth Anniversary of the birth of General Rutherford B. Hayes 
submitted the following report : 

It is fitting and proper that the Bar Association of Sandusky 
County pay its tribute of respect to the memory of General Hayes 
upon this One Hundredth Anniversary of his birth. General 
Hayes was admitted to the Bar of the State of Ohio at Marietta, 
on the loth day of March. 1845, ^^d very shortly thereafter be- 
gan the active practice of law in Fremont (then Lower San- 
dusky) in partnership with General Ralph P. Buckland. During 
the entire time after his admission to the Bar he always mani- 
fested a keen interest in the Bar of Sandusky County and the 
welfare of the Bar Association. 

At the age of fourteen years the subject of this sketch was 
sent to Norwalk, Ohio, to become a pupil in what was then 
known as "The Norwalk Seminary," a Methodist School, of 
which the Rev. Jonathan E. Chaplin was principal, where he 
spent his school years of 1836 and 1837; and in the autumn of 
1837, he was sent to a private school at Middletown, Connecticut, 
conducted by Isaac Webb. Mr. Webb was a graduate of Yale 
College ; had been a tutor in the College, and was highly com- 
mended by the President, Jeremiah Day. It was not a large 
school, the number of pupils being restricted to twenty; great 
care was exercised to receive only boys of diligence and good 
character. Mr. Webb intended that the reputation of the school 
should rest on thorough study, faithful instruction and steady 
discipline ; correct habits, principles, feelings and tastes were to 
be assiduouslv cultivated and truth, justice and honor, to be re- 
garded as the cardinal points of character. 

On November t. 1838, General Hayes entered Kenyon 
College as a freshman, where he graduated with high honors in 



Birth of Rutherford Birchard Hayes 89 

1842, and on the nth day of October, 1842, at the age of twenty 
years, he began the study of law in the office of Sparrow & Mat- 
thews at Columbus, where he remained for ten months and in 
August, 1843, enrolled as a law student at Harvard University. 
Among the students who attended Kenyon College and who were 
warm friends of General Hayes were David Davis. Edwin M. 
Stanton, Henry Winter Davis, Stanley Matthews, and Salmon P. 
Chase, all of whom attained marked distinction in public life. 
As evidence of the character of the man we quote from his diary 
written on November 12th, 1842, just after he had graduated 
from Kenyon College: "I have parted from the friends I love 
best, and am now struggling to enter the portals of the profession 
in which is locked up the passport which is to conduct me to all 
that I am destined to receive in life. The entrance is steep and 
difficult, but my chiefest obstacles are within myself. If I knew 
and could master myself, all other difficulties would vanish. To 
overcome long-settled habits, one has almost to change 'the stamp 
of nature' ; but bad habits must be changed and good ones formed 
in their stead, or I shall never find the pearls I seek." 

On January i, 1845, we find this significant entry in his 
diary. "This is the beginning of the new year. In two or three 
weeks I shall leave the Law School and soon after shall begin 
to live. Heretofore I have been getting ready to live. How 
much has been left undone, it is of no use to reckon. My labors 
have been to culti\ate and store my mind. This year the char- 
acter, the whole man, must receive attention. I will strive to 
become in manners, morals, and feelings a true gentleman. The 
rudeness of a student must be laid ofT, and the quiet, manly de- 
portment of a gentleman put on — not merely to be worn as a 
garment, but to become by use a part of myself. I believe I 
know what true gentility, genuine breeding, is. Let me but live 
out what is within, and I am vain enough to think that little 
of what is important would be found wanting." The ability of 
General Hayes as a lawyer was clearly recognized by the courts ; 
because during the month of August. 1845. ^^^ was appointed and 
acted as a member of the committee that examined Stanley Mat- 
thews for admission to the Bar of Ohio, and in March, 1889. 
he delivered a brilliant oration before the Sandusky County Bar 
Association in commemoration of the death and works of Stanley 
Matthews. Judge K. F. Dickinson a member of this Association 
had been a life long friend of General Hayes and upon his death 
he submitted a beautiful tribute to the life and works of Judge 
Dickinson and likewise upon the death of General Buckland. 
General Haves delivered verv fittinglv, before this Association. 



90 Coifciiary Celebration 

an oration referring feelingly to his association with General 
Buckland, not only as a lawyer, but as a comrade in arms and as 
a fellow citizen. General Hayes early manifested that military 
spirit which was characteristic of the young men of his day ; 
and in 1845. he made an effort to enlist in the service of his 
country while it was engaged in the war with Mexico, but on 
account of his physical condition, he was not permitted to enlist 
and when it became manifest that Civil W^ar in this country was 
imminent his patriotic zeal was awakened and he immediately 
prepared himself for active participation in the union cause. 

As an evidence of his patriotic zeal and determination to 
fight for that which he thought was right, we quote the following: 

"Judge Matthews and T have agreed to go into the service 
for the war — if possible into the same regiment. I spoke my 
feelings to him wTiich he said were his also. viz.. that this was a 
just and necessary war and that it demanded the whole power 
of the country; that I would prefer to go into it if I knew I was 
to die or be killed in the course of it. than to live through and 
after it without taking any part in it." 

As to the life of General Hayes as a soldier, executive, states- 
man and philanthropist, we will leave it to others upon this oc- 
casion to recount. He was of singular purity and up-rightness 
in public and private life. As a soldier, statesman and president, 
he rose to the foremost rank and never lost that true kindness to- 
wards every human being, great or small. 

As a public official he grappled with and successfully mas- 
tered perhaps more complex and serious problems than any 
other citizen of America. When Sandusky County builds a new 
court house; may we not now suggest that a statue of General 
Hayes be provided for as a part of the building; that his memory 
may be thereby honored and perpetuated, because of his member- 
ship in the Sandusky County Bar Association and in view of the 
fact that he achieved high and distinguished honors as President 
of the United States, three times Governor of the State of Ohio ; 
as a Member of Congress, as an eminent soldier, as well as his 
long residence in this county. 

Respectfullv submitted. 

T. P. Dewey. 
David B. Love, 
T. T. Garver, 
James G. Hunt, 
A. W. Overmyer, 

A. E. CULBERT. 



Birth of Ritthcrford Bircliard Hayes 91 

COMMUNICATIONS AND PRESS NOTICES 
While it had been hoped that Secretary of State 
Hughes and Secretary of Commerce Hoover would be 
present in person, the following letter refers to the 
unavoidable absence of Secretary Hughes: 

The Secretary of State 

Washington 

Sept. 2-/, 1922. 
My dear Colonel Hayes: 

I have received your letter of Sept. 25th and have also had 
the pleasure of talkii\^ with your brother. Mr. Scott R. Hayes, 
who has today strongly urged the acceptance of your kind in- 
vitation. It is needless for me to say that it would give Mrs. 
Hughes and myself the greatest gratification to be able to attend 
this centenary celebration of the birth of your distinguished 
father. President Hayes, and especially to have the opportunity 
to join in the tribute to his memory. You will understand, how- 
ever, that having ju^t returned from a month's absence (in 
Brazil ) I find an accumulation of work and it will be absolutely 
impossible for me to leave Washington in order to be present 
at the celebration on Oct. 4th. I am very sorry to disappoint 
vou. but I have no alternative. 

Mrs. Hughes joins me in kind regards to Mrs. Hayes and 
yourself. 

\'ery sincerely yours, 

Charles E. Hughes. 

The American Ambassador to France during the 
American partici])ati()n in the World War, the Honor- 
able William G. Sharp, wrote: 

Dear Colonel Hayes : 

I have before me the kind invitation to attend the Centenary 
Celebration of the birth of your illustrious father, the former 
President of the United States, which was evidently sent me soon 
after my departure for Europe. I am acknowledging it first of 
my unanswered letters to express my appreciation of your re- 
membering us for such a noted occasion. 

I am sure that the celebration, as well as the dedication of 
the several worthy projects which are enumerated in your invi- 



92 Centenary Celebration 

tation must have been very impressive as well as interesting. 
Please accept my hearty thanks. 

Cordially and sincerely yours, 

William G. Sharp. 

The next Governor of Ohio wrote as follows: 

Columbus, Ohio, Sept. 26, 1922. 
Dear Colonel Haves : 

I beg to acknowledge receipt of your invitation to attend 
the dedication of the Library addition to the Hayes Memorial, 
at Spiegel Grove, on Oct. 4th. Vou can rest assured that if it is 
at all possible. I will be present, as I remember the very pleasant 
time I had on a similar occasion several years ago. 

I am deeply interested in your work and will always be glad 
to have any literature you have in connection with the same. 

With kindest personal regards and best wishes for you and 
yours 

I am very truly yours, 

A. V. Donah ey. 

The Centenary celebration drew interesting com- 
ments from high officials of the previous national ad- 
ministration. Secretary of War Baker, of President 
Wilson's cabinet, who represented President Wilson and 
delivered an eloquent address at the dedication of the 
original Hayes Memorial on May 30. 1916, in sending 
his regrets, wrote: 

Cleveland, Sept. 25th. 1922. 
My dear Colonel Hayes : 

I have just received the invitation to be present at the cele- 
bration of the Centenary of the birth of your distinguished 
father, on Wednesday, Oct. 4th. I deeply regret that engage- 
ments already made so far preempt that day as to make it im- 
possible for me to be away from Cleveland uiitil late in the after- 
noon, when I must leave for a supreme court engagement in 
Columbus. I think I have already said to you, but it gives me 
pleasure to repeat it, that as the years go by and my experience 
and reading grow larger, I come to have a larger and more sym- 
pathetic view of your father's life and services. Surely no one 



Birtli of Rutlicrfurd Birchard Hayes 93 

could have been called to high executive office under circum- 
stances more trying or at a time when the country itself was more 
disturbed and unsettled. His fairness, dignity, and clear-sighted 
integrity were a rock of strength to the government in trying 
days. I am glad this significant Centenary is to be observed 
and I hope that the utmost use will be made of the occasion to 
impress the lessons of your father's life ui)on the country which 
he served. Cordially yours, 

Newton D. Baker. 

Secretary of the Navy, Josephiis Daniels, says in 
reply to an inquiry of his estimate of General Hayes' 
administration: 

"Following the election of 1876, it was impossible to give 
an appraisal of public servants that would be just or free from 
partisanship. With the passage of time, however, I feel that 
there has come an appreciation of the fact that the action of 
President Hayes in withdrawing the troops from the South, in- 
dicated high moral courage and a resolute desire to bring peace 
and opportunity for develoi^ment to the southern people. 

"The situation which l^resident Hayes had to encounter 
when entering the White House was a very difficult one. The 
Democrats believed that Mr. Tilden was elected. President 
Hayes owed his election to the electoral vote of South Carolina, 
Louisiana and Mississippi, states in which the Democrats believed 
the votes had been cast for Mr. Tilden. The withdrawal of the 
troops from those three states automatically put in power the 
Democratic state governments, who had been chosen in the same 
election when the electoral vote was counted for President Hayes. 
Of course President Hayes knew when he withdrew these troops 
that the results that did take place would follow. He knew that 
such results were necessary for good government in those states. 

"No one understood better than he that the withdrawal of 
the troops would be regarded by many of his countrymen as a 
confession that his election was not free from partisan setting 
aside of the voice of the people in these states. I have, therefore, 
always regarded it as a matter of high moral courage for him 
to have restored peace in the South at such a cost to his prestige. 

"His courage showed that he preferred to be the recipient of 
much criticism than to perpetuate in the South conditions that 
were intolerable and unbearable." 

Thus when one looks back at the administration of Ruther- 
ford B. Hayes, he sees a serious etfort made to reform the civil 
service, an effectual resumption of specie payments, and a con- 



94 Cciitoiary Cclcbratiuii 

ciliatory policy inaugurated toward the distressed southern states, 
which has altogether inured to the honor, integrity and stability 
of that Union for which General Hayes fought on many southern 
fields, whose integrity he proclaimed in every political contest 
and which he endeavored to maintain in his three terms as gov- 
ernor of his native state, and which he finally greatlv advanced 
by his four years in the White House at Washington. 

Rear Admiral William S. Sims, U. S. Navy, who as 
Admiral so efficiently commanded the American naval 
forces in European waters during- the W^jrld War, ex- 
pressed his regret at his inability to be present in the 
following letter : 

Office of the President 
Na\ \i. War Coleege, Newport, R. I. 
Dear Sir: 

I beg to acknowledge the receipt of vour letter of Sept. 3d, 
containing the very flattering invitation for me to attend the 
Centennial celebration of the birth of vour father, Rutherford 
B. Hayes, on ( )ctober 4th, your invitation kinfllv including Mrs. 
Sims. 

Needless to sav we should be very glad indeed to attend this 
celebration but unfortunately October 4th will be but a few 
days before my retirement from active service and I shall be so 
much engaged in closing up my active duty as president of the 
na\al war college that this and certain other engagements will 
make it impossible for us to be absent from Newport at that 
time. I need not assure you again how much we are gratified 
that we have been included in this invitation and how much we 
regret our inability to accept it. 

Very sincerely yours, 

William S. Sims. 

Commander-in-Chief James W. Willett of the Grand 
Army of the Republic, in a letter from Des Moines, 
Iowa, to President Campbell, expresses his keen regret 
at being unable to attend the Hayes Centennial exer- 
cises, and notes that Mrs. Willett was born in Tiffin, 
Ohio, which wtnild have been an added inducement to 



Birtli (if Rntlhcrford Bircliayd Hayes 95 

draw them to ( )hi(). "aside from the honor conferred 
upon me had I been present." 

The N. Y. SiiiL which was a bitter opponent and 
critic during- and after the Hayes administration, savs 
in an editorial on the Centenary, headed "Hayes AI10I- 
ished Carpet Bags": 

The judgment of a later day has put unpredicted value on 
both the ability and the services of f^resident Hayes. While he 
may not rank with Washington, with Lincoln or with Roosevelt, 
his firmness and foresight have earned recognition not at first 
granted them. He appears to deserve the credit for bringing 
to an end the post-bellum course of political laxity in the North 
and retrogression in the South. 

Congressional reconstruction had proved by 1877 its inability 
to carry out the majority's plans of restoration and idealistic 
advance for the reconquered Southern States. Hayes, with- 
drawing the Federal troops, permitted the unsuccessful policy 
to fall of its own weight. He had apparently concluded that 
the Nation could not attain full prosperity while one great sec- 
tion remained on the rocks. He broke with the traditions of his 
party in this respect to perform a service to his country. 

The New York Herald in a comprehensive, discrim- 
inating, but highl}- laudatory article on President 
Hayes brings out the fact, too often overlooked: "All 
attempts to induce him to accept a renomination failed." 
Also that "some of his ablest political opponents con- 
ceded that President Hayes's administration, taken as a 
whole, had been no less honorable to himself than credit- 
able to his country." 

An editorial in the OJiio State Journal emphasizes 
the fact that "the soundness of his measures soon proved 
itself and made possible the Republican success in 1880. 
It has been said of him that never once in all the trying- 
days following his election and throughout his presi- 
dency did he lose his temper. He combined great firm- 



96 Centenary Celebration 

ness of character with unfaiHng good nature, an efifec- 
tive combination not often found in presidents or other 
men. * * * As president he soon proved a com- 
plete and unpleasant surprise to the managers of his 
party machine. His manners were mild, but his back- 
bone w^as stiff as a ramrod. W'ith the utmost good 
nature but with the grimmest determination he pro- 
ceeded at once to antagonize the party leaders, wiping 
out carpet-bag government in the South, upholding 
Sherman in his great fight against the insistent un- 
sound-money sentiment of the day, and inaugurating 
civil service reform to an extent imdreamed of by the 
disgusted practical politicians." 

A comprehensive editorial in the Boston Herald of 
October 4 says in part : 

A century ago today, on Oct. 4, 1822, at Delaware. Ohio, 
of ancestry reaching far back into New England. Rutherford 
Birchard Hayes was born. He fought bodily weakness as a 
young man, manifested great interest in books, studied in Ohio 
and Connecticut, and after having spent two years at the Harvard 
law school and in attendance upon special classes in the college. 
he was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1845. He had gained some 
distinction in Cincinnati when the civil war came. Several times 
wounded and with a fine record for bravery, he entered Congress 
at the end of 1865 and became Governor of Ohio in 1868. He 
served two terms, then after an interval a third, taking the nomi- 
nation against his preferences and making the campaign on the 
sound money issue ; there were many in Ohio in those days who 
believed that the only thing necessary to make real money was 
the stamp of the United States, no matter how much or how little 
of actual value might be back of it. It was this fight against 
"Fog Horn'' Allen and inflation that gave Hayes the nomination 
for the Presidency. 

Few Presidents have assumed office under more difficult 
conditions than did our nineteenth executive. Few have borne 
themselves with greater dignity under excoriation of the mem- 
bers of the opposing partv and the cross-fire of the factions of 
their own party. Hayes deserves far more credit for vigor, 
steadiness and fulfilment of campaign pledges than has usually 



Birlli of Rutherford Hircluird Ilaycs 9/ 

been j^ranted him. Xo one knew who his cabinet were lo be 
until tile actual inauguration. W hen they were announced the 
country could not miss the conclusion that Hayes intended that 
the war no longer should dominate our politics. He had avowed 
his intention of restoring home rule in the South, cleaning u]) 
the national administration, and maintaining the public credit. He 
went to work with a body of advisers representing all these aims 
but with a Congress split against itself. He had few friends in 
the Republican Senate once he had sent in his cabinet list, and 
the Democratic House wanted most of all to hamper the admin- 
istration. Hayes withdrew the federal troops from the South, 
he vetoed the Bland-Allison silver act, he showed the country 
that "the wav to resume 'specie payments' is to resume." to 
quote the Horace Greeley dictum, and in spite of the quarrel be- 
tween Half- Breeds and Stalwarts and his unpopularity with his 
party he issued an executive order forbidding office holders to 
take active part in party management. 

Hayes grew in popular estimation steadil\- through the four 
years of his incumhencv. There is reason to indorse the state- 
ment of Carl Schurz that the Republican party in Hayes "had 
nominated a man without knowing it." His Presidency over he 
retired to Spiegel Grove at Fremont, O., where a celebration 
will be held today, and in simple and useful pursuits passed the 
remainder of his years. He was a "great commoner" ; an able 
and "straight" man. 

The Indiana])()lis Star in a tliscriniinating' article on 
the Haves Centenary, bv Miss Margaret M. Scott, says 
in part : 

The elaborate celebration in 1-^emont. ()., ( )ct. _(., of the 
centenary of the birth of Rtttherford B. Hayes, nineteenth ('resi- 
dent of the United States, at his former home, Spiegel Grove, 
now a state park through the generosity of his son. Col. W'ebb C. 
Flayes, had special interest and significance for the people of 
hiclianapolis because an ex-citizen, Charles R. Williams, long the 
editor of the Indianapolis N^cws. was one of the speakers and 
was honored by having a room in the new addition to the Hayes 
memorial library dedicated to him under title of "The Charles 
Richards Williams Reading Room." 

The (3hio Archaeological and Historical Society of which 
Gen. Hayes was president at the time of his death, had charge 
of the centenarv exercises, invitations for which were sent to the 



98 Ccjitciiary Celebration 

distinguished guests of the societv in civil, military and otticial 
life. 

The city of Fremont, where Gen. Hayes spent the major 
portion of his life, when not actively connected with state and 
national affairs, co-operated with the historical society and had 
direct charge of the parade and historical pageant, which was dis- 
missed on entering Spiegel (iro\e. Dedicatory exercises then 
were held for the Croghan (jate, the Harrison Gate, the ^Ic- 
Pherson Gateway, in memor\- of the soldiers in the war with 
Mexico and the war for the Union ; and the Alemorial gateway in 
memory of the soldiers in the war with Spain and the world war. 

Idiis new addition to the Hayes memorial, equal in dimen- 
sions to the original structure, will house the large and vahiahle 
library collected by (jen. Idavcs during his army service in the 
Civil War and as (Governor of (Ihio and as President of the 
United States, as well as during his long career as a lawyer. 

The Williams reading room in honor of the splendid library 
room in the Williams's Princeton home. Later Mr. Williams's 
collection of books — one of the finest of the notable smaller col- 
lections in the country — will be installed in the room. The 
mahogany bookshelves will l)e those removed from his Xorth 
Meridian street home and set up in the great sunken library in 
"Benedict House" — its parallel twin stairways lined \vith books 
leading from the main hall and drawing room at one end and 
its French doors at the other, with an immense fireplace midway, 
making a room so attractive and full of character, at the same 
time containing so many beautiful "vistas" that photographers 
and magazine writers beg for an opi)ortunity to photograph it. 

This is the room in which the Woodrow Wilsons enter- 
tained their larger companies before going to the White House. 
It is the room which opens on a terrace overlooking the flower 
garden which has something blooming in it from earliest s])ring 
to latest fall — a garden, by the way, to which gold-dusted bees 
(Princeton's colors, of course!) from Grover Cleveland's neigh- 
boring estate come to sip sweets. 

This room with its massive Ijronze candelabra from \'ienna 
will be duplicated at Si)iegel Grove in recognition of Mr. Wil- 
liams's service to .\merican history in general and ()hio history 
in particular in writincj the "Life of Hayes" (2 vols.) and com- 
piling and editing the "Hayes Diary and Letters" (4 vols.) 

Rutherford 11. Haves, after the ])assion of years has sub- 
sided, is g-rowing in worth to the American ])eople. The great 
accomplishments of his administration, with the reconstruction 
of the South, the establishment of sound currency and the main- 
tenance of the civil service system, have gi\en him his ])roper 



Birth of Rutherford Birchard Hayes 99 

place in historw It is now worthy and tittiny that this celehration 
should he held wdieie the mementos of his civil, military and 
presidential life are assembled. Added is the fact that the 
Spiegel Grove state park in itself is a historical monument to the 
wonderful days of the past. 

Under the sweeping branches of its gigantic hickories, oaks, 
elms and maples sped the bronzed messengers of Pontiac carry- 
ing the war wampum to the southern Indian tribes ; over the 
same trail marched Gen. Harrison and his army to resist the 
British invader, and in a later era gathered the great generals 
of the Union army to do honor to its distinguished occupant. 
Here Sherman, Sheridan. Rosecrans, Crook, Comly and Scammon 
were visitors. Here, too. at various times, came Presidents Gar- 
field. Cleveland. McKinley. Taft and Harding. 

Few writers. Republican or Democratic, have written as dis- 
passionately and fairly of Hayes and his administration, few 
have done as much as. and none has done more than Mr. \\ il- 
liams to draw attention to Hayes's personal worth, his scholarly 
attainments, his splendid civic services, and the great accomplish- 
ments of his administration. This is all the more remarkable 
when it is remembered that Mr. Williams is a Democrat. 

It will be recalled that after leaving the News (1911). Mr. 
Williams devoted three years to writing the "Life of President 
Haves'" — a task inherited from his father-in-law. William Henry 
Smith, who died in 1896. The latter, who had been Hayes's 
closest personal and political friend, was to write the life, but 
had hardlv begun it. r)n his death bed. he insisted that his son- 
in-law should go on with it. 

This Mr. Williams promised to do, supposing the arrange- 
ment would not be acceptable to the Hayes family. But the 
family urged it. and Mr. Williams loyally fulfilled his promise. 
And no one knows better than the writer, who acted as his 
literary-secretary for a great portion of those years both in 
Indianapolis and at Spiegel Grove, at what cost to his nerves, 
his evesight, his pleasure, his health, his welfare, he did indeed 
loyally fulfill that promise. 

The life was published in 1914, and was received most fa- 
vorablv by critics and historians. Andrew D. White pronounced 
it one of the three or four best biographies in the English lan- 
guaee ; and there were other similar commendations. 

This same year Mr. Williams removed to Princeton, X. J., 
and later bought the house at 25 Cleveland lane, which had been 
occupied by \Voodrow Wilson, while he was Governor of New- 
Jersey, and from which he went to the White House. The house 
was remodeled and the grounds enlarged and developed until 
the place, named "Benedict House" in memory of his mother, 



lOO Centenary Celebration 

whose maiden name was Benedict, became noteworthy among the 
many beautiful places for which Princeton is famous. There 
he has led a life of busy leisure among his books and with 
abounding hospitality. During the first two years of residence 
there he wrote a history of the Cliosophic Society of the univer- 
sity in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of its founding 
(in 1765) — the oldest literary society in America. 

Critics have characterized it as the best book of its sort they 
have ever read. After America entered the war against Germany, 
he became one of the speaking staff of the National Security 
League, and of the New Jersey state council of defense, doing 
his bit by making speeches, in stimulating patriotism and explain- 
ing and defending the policies of the government. 

Not long after the publication of the "Life of Hayes." the 
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society began to plan 
for the publication of Mr. Hayes's "Diary and Letters." At the 
solicitation of the society, Mr. Williams, who was most familiar 
with all the Hayes papers, consented to edit them and prepare 
them for the press. The normal income of the societv. however, 
was not sufficient to justify so ambitious an undertaking. Ap- 
peal was made to the Legislature of Ohio, which the Governor 
seconded and approved, and early in 1921 the Legislature pro- 
vided the society with am])le means for the execution of its 
worthy project. 

Mr. Williams had already begun his task, which he found de- 
manded an incredible amount of minute research and painstaking 
labor. To this he devoted, all told, some three years of almost 
continuous effort, assisted by copyist and secretary. The result 
is seen in four large volumes, which not only abound in valuable 
historical information, but which vividly reveal the development, 
character and accomplishment of a typical American gentleman 
of noble qualities, who rose to the highest distinction. 

Mr. Williams's work is a model of good editing. With char- 
acteristic modesty, the editor himself never obtrudes, but his 
presence in the background is constantly felt. 

He is marking the completion of the four volumes of Hayes's 
"Dairy and Letters" by taking a year oft' for rest and travel. 
After the celebration at Spiegel Grove, he and Mrs. Williams 
will come to Indianapolis for a visit — the first of any length 
since their removal East eight years ago. 

The Fremont Nczvs in an editoi"ial "Colonel Haves 
deserves no little honor" voices the sentiments of Fre- 
monters : 



Birth of Rutherford Birchard Hayes loi 

Fremont was a factor in world's news this week. l"he de- 
votion of Colonel Webb C. Hayes for his illustrious father, 
Rutherford Birchard Hayes, made possible the appropriate ex- 
ercises held in commemoration of the looth anniversary of his 
father's birth and placed Fremont, the home of the nineteenth 
president of the United States on the front page of many news- 
papers and leading periodicals throughout North America. The 
affair was recounted in leading pul)lications in foreign countries. 
As a result of the untiring efforts of Colonel Webb C. Hayes 
and his liberality in financing the major portion of the proposi- 
tion, the affair was concluded in a blaze of glory and praise is 
extended from many quarters for the results obtained in one 
of the best celebrations of any kind ever held in this city. 

The city council will take official recognition of the efforts 
of Colonel Hayes and suitable resolutions, now in the course of 
preparation, are to be presented at the next meeting commend- 
ing him for his labors. 

Interviews with leading citizens, brought nothing but the 
highest praises for Colonel Hayes in his undertaking. The active 
members of the Hayes Commission, were not overlooked for 
their labors. 

"Colonel Hayes and his uncle, Sardis Birchard, are respon- 
sible for Fremont's pretty parks,'" said one Fremonter. He re- 
ferred also to Birchard Library, which was conceived by the late 
Mr. Birchard, an uncle of Colonel Hayes, as well as Birchard 
park, this woodland tract being given to the city by Mr. Birchard 
as a site for park purposes. Colonel Hayes has through his 
generositv provided the southwest section of Fremont and a 
portion of Ballville township, wih an elaborate system of parks, 
which for their originality have won praises from men and 
women in all walks of life. The designing of the Soldiers' 
Memorial Parkway of Sandusky County, is alone a stupendous 
task, but this is but one of the many commendable projects for 
which Colonel Hayes should have credit. He has been untiring 
and unselfish, in his undertakings to make Fremont a place of 
beauty and a shrine to attract people from all parts of the world. 

Colonel Hayes has made it possil:)le for the Spiegel Grove 
state park to be one of the national show places for all time to 
come. Not only has he presented the beauty spot to the state of 
Ohio but he has also set aside funds for the permanent upkeep 
of the place. It was Colonel Hayes' money that built the Hayes 
Memorial Library and Museum and it is his money that is pay- 
ing for the addition to the library. A conservative estimate 
of the benefactions of Colonel Hayes and the money he has 
given for these permanent memorials, also the Memorial Hospital 



102 Centenary Celebrat 



Ion 



and other Fremont projects he has favored, is placed at $500,000. 
There is not a city in the United States but what would be 
proud to point to the fact that it had been the home of a presi- 
dent of the Nation and there is not a city in the country but 
what would gladly point with i)ride and praise to such a place as 
the Spiegel Grove state park, a perpetual monument to a noted 
citizen and a show place of interest that each year attracts hun- 
dreds, yes thousands, of visitors from all ([uarters of the globe. 

CEXTEXARY NOTES 
After the parade, luncheon and exercises. Troop A 
and the Polo team of the 11th Infantry gave a spirited 
exhibit of polo playing and horsemanship incident 
thereto. Another sporting attraction of the afternoon 
was the baseball game between the Pittsburgh Pirates 
of the National Peague and the fast-going K. c^f P. 
team of Fremont. 



Motion picture cameras recorded the movements of 
a large part of the crowd about the Memorial Building 
and the speakers' platform, as well as of the morning's 
parade. Over 1200 feet of film were taken and the 
excellent pictures were shown in a local theater the fol- 
lowing week. 



A beautiful bronze bird fountain, the work of the 
charming young sculptress. Miss Nancy Stair of De- 
troit, with Fremont forebears, was presented to Colonel 
and Mrs. Hayes, for Spiegel Grove, by Miss Stair. It 
was set up in the Knoll just before the. Centenary day. 



The Hayes Centenary March, com])osed bv Ruther- 
ford Hayes Merriam, who was born on the day of Presi- 
dent Hayes's inaugtn-ation and named for him, was 
played by the High School band at the unveiling of the 



Birth of Rutherford Birchard Hayes 103 

tablet on the Croghan Gateway to the Spiegel Grove 
State Park. This spirited piece of music was arranged 
for the band by Mrs. Wainwright, wife of the leader 
of the High School Band. 



The Hayes Centenary Stamp — an eleven-cent i)ost- 
age stamp issued by the Post Office Department and 
offered first for sale at the Fremont I'ostoffice on the 
morning of Octoljer 4th, was the most popular picture 
of the day. Demands for it from all over the country 
are still received at the local office. 



Souvenir badges put out by the American Legion 
Auxiliary carried a good likeness of President Hayes. 
The Centenary post card, arranged by Mrs. Heim, with 
its pretty design in color of a century plant in bloom, 
and showing a portrait of President Hayes, with 
sketches of Spiegel Grove and the Wliite House, had a 
large circulation. 



Conspicuous on the speakers' platform, at the south 
side of the Annex to be dedicated, was the tattered old 
regimental flag of the 23d ( ). \'. \'. L, General Hayes's 
own beloved regiment in the \\i\r for the Union. It 
was borne bv surviving members of the regiment who 
had also guarded it at the toml) in the Knoll during the 
morning parade. Among the X'eterans were sixty com- 
rades from the Soldiers' Home in Sandusky, who were 
given free transportation in a special car by the Pake 
Shore Electric Ry. Company. 



The 11th Infantry, almost 800 strong, encam])ed in 
the Lsrael Putnam Ao-ricultural Park, and remained a 



104 Centenary Celebration 

week, its dress parades, band concerts from its forty- 
five pieces, bugle calls, and camp routine, attracting 
much attention and many visitors. Colonel Halstead, its 
commanding officer, is the son of Murat Halstead, one 
of the best known of the great editors of the Middle 
West. This regiment, together with the Troopers and 
the Toledo Battery, made up the largest force of visiting 
soldiers since Israel Putnam and his Colonial Troops 
from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut of P.rad- 
street's Expedition camped near the same spot in 1764. 



Much of the success of the speaking program was 
due to the presiding officer, Hon. James E. Campbell, 
President of the Society, who introduced the speakers 
with a wit and readiness of repartee that found huge 
appreciation in the immense audience. In spite of the 
length of the program — a ])rogram that began at 1 :30 
and was still going on at five o'clock, many unable to 
find seats stood throughout the whole session. Com- 
parisons are barred, but more than one declared that 
the Mayor's speech of literally eight words was the 
triumph of the day ! Throughout the elaborate prep- 
arations for the day. Mayor Schwartz was, next to 
Colonel Hayes himself, the main motive force. Mr. 
Ging's handling of the Float section was also highly 
efficient. 



Fremont was in gala attire, its business and resident 
sections ablaze with color, in honor of her most distin- 
guished citizen. Factories, business houses and schools 
were closed for the entire day. The visiting crowd was 
enormous, coming from all parts of Ohio and neighbor- 



Birth of Rutherford BircJiard Hayes 105 

ing States. Strategic points for viewing the parade, 
and around the reviewing stand, were taken hours be- 
fore the procession started from Fort Stephenson. 

Following the dedication of the Soldier's Memorial 
parkway and the five memorial gateways leading into 
Spiegel Grove, the parade was officially declared ended 
with the firing of 15 bombs by the battery. The bomb 
discharges carried parachutes which, as they descended, 
unfolded and showed small American flags suspended. 
This was a telling climax to the striking pageant and 
ceremonv. 



Enormous crowds passed through the Hayes Me- 
morial building, inspecting its treasures of books, pic- 
tures, flags and trophies, manuscrii)ts, autograph letters, 
souvenirs of our early Presidents, historic costumes, etc. 



Not the least of the successes of the day was the 
gathering together for the first time in nearly thirty 
years of the immediate family of President and Mrs. 
Hayes. Mr. and Mrs. Birchard A Hayes, of Toledo, 
with their two youngest sons, Walter and Scott ; Mr. 
and Mrs. Rutherford P. Hayes of Florida, with their 
eldest son, William; Mrs. Frances Hayes of New York; 
and Mr. and Mrs. Scott R. Hayes of Spiegel Farms on 
the Hudson, all spent some days before and after the 
Fourth, at Spiegel Grove, with Colonel and Mrs. Hayes. 



Other out-of-town relatives ])resent were Mrs. Jean 
Mitchell Monserrat of Columbus, with her eldest daugh- 
ter, great-niece and great-grand-niece of President 
Haves; and Mr. Haves Robbins and his son. Haves 



io6 Centenary Celebration 

Robbins 2d, who made the long journey from Connecti- 
cut for the day's celebration. 



The Press of Fremont deserves great praise for its 
handling of the Centenary material. The Nci^'s, Mes- 
senger and the Journal contributed much to the local 
interest and information, got out si)ecial illustrated edi- 
tions of their papers, giving enthusiastic and compre- 
hensive reports of the proceedings. The Messenger 
contributed a careful outline of the Life of President 
Haves. 

"PARS MAGNA FUI !" 



Hayes Memorial Building, Spiegel Grove State Park. 
The Ninety-eighth Anniversary of the birth of Ruther- 
ford Birchard Haves, nineteenth President of the 
United States, 1877-1881, and at the time of his death, 
January 17, 1893, the honored President of the Ohio 
State Arch?eological and Historical Society, was cele- 
brated with ceremonies of unusual interest on October 4. 
1920, at Spiegel Grove, Fremont, Ohio. The day was 
cloudless and the people came by thousands. The exer- 
cises were held under the auspices of the Society, with 
its President, former Governor James E. Campbell pre- 
siding. The occasion was the unveiling of the Soldiers' 
Memorial Tablet on the Hayes Memorial Building in 
Spiegel Grove State Park. In his opening address, 
President Campbell spoke as follows: 

ADDRESS OF HONORABLE JAMES E. CAMPBELL 

Haves Memorial Buikling. Spiegel Grove State Park. The 
Ninety-eighth Anniversary of the birth of Rutherford Birchard 
Haves, nineteenth President of the United States. 1 877-1881. and 



Birth of Rutherford Birchard Hayes 107 

at the time of his death, January 17, 1893, the honored President 
of the Ohio State Archaelogical and Historical Society, was cele- 
brated with ceremonies of unusual interest on October 4, 1920, 
at Spiegel Grove, Fremont, Ohio. The day was cloudless and 
the people came by thousands. The exercises were held under 
the auspices of the Society, with its President, former Governor 
James E. Campbell, presiding. The occasion was the unveiling 
of the Soldiers' Memorial Tablet on the Hayes Memorial Build- 
ing in Spiegel Grove State Park. In his opening "address Presi- 
dent Campbell spoke as follows : 

Fello-a' Citizens: The patriotic people of Sandusky County, 
remembering and revering their heroic dead, have called us to 
join them in unveiling a tablet that shall preserve forever, in en- 
during bronze, the names of those gallant sons of the county 
who, in the war with Spain and in that unparallelel cataclysm 
known as "The World War," gave their lives to their country, 
to mankind and to humanity. 1 he war with Spain was a small 
war while the World War was the worst known to men ; but 
the memory of him who died in the one is as precious and 
glorious as that of him who died in the other. They were all 
heroes whom the peojile of Sandusky county delight alike to 
honor. 

These men carried our flag upon foreign soil — in the hrst 
instance for the purpose of freeing two oppressed races from 
semi-barbaric rule ; in the second instance to destroy a military 
autocracv which threatened to extirpate democracy and to make 
all nations its abject slaves or dependents. From both of these 
wars the Star Spangled Banner emerged with added and im- 
perishable lustre. Especially is this true of the last war for 
there, to cjuote these appro])riate lines, — 

"SereiiL- and beautiful it waved, 

The flag our fathers knew, 
In the sunny air of France it laved 

And gained a brighter hue. 

"Oh. may it ever the emblem be 

Of all that makes this country free; 

And may we cherish liberty 
And to the flag be true." 

To the eminent orators who are your honored guests, who 
are much more capable of doing justice to these patriot dead 
than I, and who are here for that ])urpose, I leave such further 
eulogy- as they may deem appropriate. I consider this a suitable 
opportunity, however, on behalf of the Ohio State Archaeological 
and Historical Society, under whose auspices these ceremonies 











Honorable James E. Camphell. 

President of Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society. 

Former Governor of Ohio. 



(108) 



Birth of RutJicrford Birchard Hayes 109 

are held, to state formally the development and consummation 
of the project (born in the mind of Colonel Webb C. Hayes) 
of maknig Spiegel Grove one of the most important monuments 
to history and patriotism in the State of Ohio. It is the duty 
of this society, and one to which it has faithfully adhered, to 
collect and disseminate information as to the history of this 
state as well as to collect, preserve and classify evidences of its 
occupation by prehistoric races. 

No part of the work of this society has been more important 
or more valuable to the historical collections of the state than the 
acquisition of Spiegel Grove with the precious personal prop- 
erty connected therewith. Its history carries one back to a time 
long prior to the Revolutionary War, for it is located in the old 
Indian Reservation or Free Territory, maintained at the lower 
rapids of the Sandusky river, which was a point of interest long 
before the white man entered Ohio. Israel Putnam was here in 
1764 and during the War of the Revolution over 2000 whites, 
captured by the Indians, passed through the Sandusky Valley, 
stopping at the Lower Falls, now Fremont, from whence they 
were transported by shipping to Detroit or on to Montreal. Zeis- 
berger and Heckewelder, the Moravians, were prisoners here, 
and also Daniel Boone and Simon Kenton. In 1872 the British 
sent troops from Detroit as far as Lower Sandusky, en route to 
repel the Crawford expedition, but they arrived too late, owing 
to the capture and burning of Crawford on the Sandusky Plains. 
During the war of 181 2. through these very grounds the old 
Harrison Trail — a military road which led from Fort Stephen- 
son to Fort Seneca — passed and is preserved intact as its prin- 
cipal driveway. 

Added to this historic interest is the fact that it typifies an 
American home of the latter part of the nineteenth century — a 
home fraught with historic memories of Rutherford B. Hayes, 
the nineteenth president of the United States, and his wife, Lucy 
Webb Hayes. Of all the homes of our presidents, covering a 
period of one hundred and thirty years, there have been pre- 
served only those of Washington at Mt. Vernon, Jefiferson at 
Monticello, Madison at Montpelier, Jackson at The Hermitage, 
and Lincoln's modest home in the city of Springfield. But in all 
these instances, more or less time had elapsed before the homes 
were acquired and put in a state of preservation ; and but few 
or no personal relics or memorials were secured. The families 
of the presidents had in most cases parted with the property, 
and their historic associations were generally dissipated. It is 
gratifying to know that Spiegel Grove met no such impairment. 
When received by the State it was in a perfect state of preser- 
vation, and all of the valuable historic efifects of President Haves 



no Centenary Celebration 

were there intact. Few ])resi(lents of the United States have 
left so large and so complete a collection of documents, papers 
and books. To these should be added all the honorable memen- 
toes and historical objects that were intimately associated with 
President Hayes during his career as a soldier in the Civil \\a.v, 
as well as that of his administration as president ; and many 
personal belongings of his wife, Lucy Webb Hayes, during her 
exalted life in the White House. President Hayes was a great 
reader and a man of scholarly tastes and attainments. His library 
of Americana was not excelled, in his time, bv that of anv other 
private individual in the nation. He had the instinct of' a col- 
lector and preserved all papers and memoranda, both of his 
public and private life, in an orderly and accessible form. His 
letters and his diaries'covering a continuous period of sixty years, 
written in his own hand, are in this collection and are now being 
prepared and compiled for publication by this society. They will 
be a valuable contribution to American history. With the excep- 
tion o^ Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt, no president 
of the United States has left such a collection of individual mem- 
oranda, literary remains and personal mementoes as did President 
Haves. 

Spiegel Grove, with its contents, upon the death of President 
Hayes in 1893. was bequeathed to his children. Afterwards the 
entire Spiegel Grove property, with its library and collections, 
became the property of Colonel Hayes by deed in 1899 from the 
other heirs in the settlement of the estate. Through the gen- 
erous filial devotion and the patriotic spirit of Colonel Hayes, 
this whole tract was oft'ered. without cost, to the State as a 
jniblic park in memory of both of his parents, by deeds dated 
March 30, 1909, and March 10, 19 10. The conditions upon 
which Colonel Hayes donated this property to the State of Ohio 
simply require its maintenance as a state park, with the further 
condition that : "The Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society 
should secure the erection upon that part of Spiegel Grove here- 
tofore conveyed to the State of Ohio for a state park, a suitable 
fireproof buildin<T on the site reserved opposite the Jefferson 
Street entrance, for tlie |)uri)0se of preserving and forever keep- 
ing in Spiegel Grove all papers, books and manuscripts left by 
the said Rutherford B. Hayes, * * * * which buiUling shall be 
in the form of a Branch Reference Library and Museum of the 
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society, and the con- 
struction and decoration of the said building shall be in the nature 
of a memorial also to the soldiers, sailors, and pioneers of San- 
dusky countv ; and suitable memorial tablets, busts and decora- 
tions indicative of the historical events and patriotic citizenship 
of Sandusky county shall be placed in and on said building, and 



Birth of Ritiluyford Birchard Hayes ill 

said building shall forever remain open to the puhlk tmdcr 
proper rules and regulations to be Hereafter made by said 
sociei}-."" 

1 luis there was given to the nation and to the State a herit- 
age of which both can well be proud, and 1 take this occasion on 
behalf of the society which 1 represent, and on behalf of the State 
which is represented by the society, to express the fullest appre- 
ciation and deepest sense of obligation. These expressions also 
extend to the nob.e and generous wife of Colonel Hayes who has 
joined him in making this spot one of historic beattty as well as 
a natriotic monument. 

In all the vears since Colonel Hayes executed his hrst deed 
to this property, the public has been left in ignorance of the 
magnitude of his contributions; of his self-sacrihce ; and of his 
generous patriotism. He has arrived at the age (and so have I) 
at which the truth can be told without suspicion of flattery or 
adulation, and at which it can be received without undue infla- 
tion. Therefore 1 take it upon myself, as president of this so- 
ciety, to relate publicly and in detail what Colonel Hayes has con- 
tributed to this great patriotic monument, aside from the property 
itself; and these facts are due historically not only to Colonel 
Hayes, but to the society and to the people of Ohio. 

Colonel Hayes spent large sums after the legal steps had 
been taken to invest this property in the Ohio Archaeological 
and Historical Society, in trust for the State of Ohio. The con- 
struction of the Hayes Memorial building cost when completed 
over $100,000, towards which the State paid $45,000 and also 
paid $10,000 for the State's share of the paving of the streets 
on the three sides of the Spiegel Grove State Park. Colonel 
Hayes at various times, and in numerous ways, in order to 
complete the building and bring it to the point of perfection 
which it has attained, expended $50,000 to that end, and to 
further add to its usefulness and beauty as a monument, he ha-; 
provided for an addition to the building that will cost at least 
$35,000, the funds for which are now in the hands of a trustee 
appointed for that purpose. 

"Since Spiegel Grove has been dedicated by Colonel Hayes 
he has placed in the hands of trustees for the benefit of the so- 
ciety and the State of Ohio other lands contiguous to the grove 
which, when sold, the trustees are to place the proceeds thereof 
in a trust fund for the use and benefit of this institution. So far 
lands to the value of $35,000 have been disposed of, and that 
amount is in the hands of a trustee for the use and benefit of 
Spiegel Grove, as held by this society. The land, exclusive of 
Spiegel Grove, remaining unsold is worth at least $100,000, the 



112 Centenary Celebration 

proceeds of which, upon sale, will be held in trust for the use 
and maintenance of the Spiegel Grove park and residence with 
any remainder for books for the Hayes Memorial Library. 

"On July ist of last year Colonel Hayes placed $100,000 in 
trust to be used in the maintenance and upbuilding of this patri- 
otic manorial. I am within a conservative estimate when I 
state that Colonel Hayes has disposed, for the benefit of pos- 
terity, in the form of the beautiful and attractive property which 
you see before you, at least $500,000 : $250,000 in cash and 
securities for endowment funds, and $250,000 in real estate and 
personal property, including the library Americana and collec- 
tions. 

"Greater and more far-reaching than the vast funds which 
he has so consecrated to others and to the memory of those loved 
by him, is his magnificent spirit of unselfishness, of tender de- 
votion to the memory of his father and mother, and of his desire 
to leave to future generations historic evidence of the past. 
Here the people of Ohio forever will come to view the evidences 
of a period of American history that will be to them a continuing 
lesion and an inspiring heritage. A visit to this place will stimu- 
late the study of Ohio history ; of her Indian tribes ; of the wars 
between the British and French and their Indian allies ; followed 
by our war for Independence, when this was a British post ; 
and of her people's heroic defense of our country in the \\'ar 
of 1812. They will see here many historical mementos of one 
who laid down civil honor to go forth to fight for the Union. 
They will see a collection of souvenirs of every president from 
Washington to Wilson ; manuscripts of great historic importance 
and literature rarely found in Ohio libraries. They will view a 
monument evidencing the unselfish devotion of private interests 
to public good, and viewing this monument they will be inspired 
to devote themselves anew to the service of our country and to 
common humanity. 

At the conclusion of his address there were many 
cheers for Colonel Hayes. Governor Campbell called 
upon him for a speech, but the Colonel merely rose to his 
feet from his chair several rows back of the presiding 
officer, bowed to the audience and sat down. This was 
the occasion for renewed cheers and finallv Colonel 
Haves rose to his feet and walked forward to the front 



Birth of Rutherford Birchard Hayes 113 

of the stand. When the crowd had quieted, expecting 
remarks, he bowed and returned to his seat. 

"Just as modest as he is good," said Chairman Camp- 
bell, and the crowd again applauded. 

LETTER FROM COLONEL WEBB C. HAYES 
As a fitting conclusion to the foregoing pages, the 
following trilnUe of Colonel Webb C. Hayes to former 
Governor James E. Campbell. President of the Ohio 
State ArchcTological and Historical Society on the oc- 
casion of the celebration of the eightieth anniversary 
of the birth of the latter, is herewith appended. 

Dear Governor Campbell: 

Thank you sincerely for sending me a copy of the very 
beautiful menu of your eightieth anniversary birthday dinner 
given in your honor on July 7th, 1923, at the Scioto Club. 

It is worth while to have an eightieth birthday when it is 
commemorated in such a manner bv one's admiring friends and 
neighbors. 

Mrs. Hayes deeply regrets that it became impossible for us 
to be present and participate in the enthusiasm of the gracious 
occasion. W'c were called to the East, fully expecting to be 
able to return in time for dinner, but were only able to reach 
the Delaware Water Gap on July 7th. from whence I telegraphed 
our congratulations and regrets. None of your friends could 
have rejoiced more heartily than we in doing you honor. It 
has been a constant source of gratification to me to be associated 
with you on the Board of Trustees of The Ohio State Archaeo- 
logical and Historical Society. 

I recall with peculiar pleasure the several interesting occa- 
sions at Spiegel Grove to which your presence added lustre. On 
May 30, 1916, you were on the list of speakers as a representa- 
tive of the Board of Trustees at the dedication of the Hayes 
Memorial Library and Museum, when President Wilson, who 
was unable to be present was represented by the Honorable 
Newton D. Baker. Secretary of \\'ar. following the scholarly 
address of Doctor Charles Richard Williams, biographer of 
Rutherford B. Hayes. 

On October 4th. 1920. my father's birthday, you presided, as 
President of the Societv, at the unveiling of the bronze tablet 



114 Centenary Celebration 

on the Hayes Memorial l)uilding in memory of the soldiers of 
Sandusky County, who died in service during the War with 
Spain and the World War. Your patriotic and eloquent speech 
of that day, with its all too flattering reference to my wife and 
myself for our efforts to honor our father and mother hy he- 
quests made to preserve forever their old home in Spiegel Grove 
as a typical American home of the last half of the Nineteenth 
Century, touched us deeply, and was made the subject of favor- 
able comment later by Warren G. Harding, who followed you on 
the program. 

Similarly, on October 4th, 1922, you presided at the exer- 
cises commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the birthday 
of Rutherford Birchard Hayes. The dignity and propriety of 
your opening address at the dedication of the library and 
museum annex to the Hayes Memorial, and the aptness and 
felicity of your words at the dedication of the Soldiers' Memorial 
Parkway of Sandusky County, and at the unveiling of the his- 
toric tablets on the five memorial gateways leading into Spiegel 
Grove, won appreciative applause and were beyond all ])raise. 
During the exercises a beautiful oak tree located near the Memo- 
ial Trees heretofore christened by the laying on of hands and 
named the "Warren G. Harding Oak", the "William H. Taft 
Oak", the "Grover Cleveland Hickory", the "William McKinley 
Oak", and the "General Sherman Elm", was christened the 
"James E. Campbell Oak" in your honor. 

In all the activities of our Society as Trustee and as Presi- 
dent, }ou have uniformly displayed an intelligent interest and 
zeal. 

Within the last year, through your personal initiative, you 
have secured the necessary funds for the erection of the World 
War Memorial annex to our main society building in Columbus, 
and thus rounded out vour soldier activities begun sixty years ago 
in the War for the Union. 

It is because of my interest and belief in the Societv, of 
wliich, for the last seven years of his life, mv father was Presi- 
dent, that when I deeded Spiegel Grove as a state park and en- 
dowed the homestead for permanent preservation, it was with 
the expectation of including in this memorial an American his- 
torical library which would be the nucleus of a library for an 
Ohio Historical Society, for which my wife and I hope to pro- 
vide an endowment fund for the purchase of historical books. 

I cannot he'p reflecting on the singular eood fortune of our 
Society in its choice of Presidents. I doubt if any similar society 
in America can show a more distinguished list. Ah have been 
men of state-wide reputation or of national fame. I recall with 



Birth of h'lillicrford Birchavd Hayes 1 15 

pride the names of xour Uxi- predecessors: Allen (j. Thurman, 
who for a generation was one of the political leaders of the na- 
tion, statesman and jurist ; Francis C. Sessions, eminent banker 
and philanthropist; Rutherford Birchard Hayes, who needs no 
characterization; (general Roelif j-irinkerhoff, soldier, '.awver, 
student of politics and distinguished penologist; (ieorge Fred- 
erick Wright, erudite in theology, and long the most learned 
geologist in America ; and now in you, so aptly characterized, by 
the dinner committee on arrangements, as "A patriot of the war 
of i<Sf)i-iSf)3, a statesman of long service, a former (lovernor of 
Ohio, and outstanding man of affairs, a courteous and unassum- 
ing gentleman". The Society rejoices in ha\ing a President 
who most worthily continues the great tra(liti(jn. 

M\' earnest hope is that, in the future, the Societ_\- may l)e as 
wise and fortunate in the choice of Presidents as it has been 
up to this time. 

With renewed felicitations and high respect. 

Sincere'iX' \'()urs. 

Webb C. H.wes. 
Tlic Hoiiorahlr J.amk.s F. Campbell, 
Coluiiihiis. Ohio. 
Prcsidoit Ohio State Arclia/:ol(>(/!cal and Historical Society. 



